


The Angels and Their Human

by xXLivelyAngelXx



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Heaven, Hell, New York City, Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-16
Updated: 2015-02-03
Packaged: 2018-02-25 14:19:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2624939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xXLivelyAngelXx/pseuds/xXLivelyAngelXx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when a large mansion is built and no one is allowed into it. That is, until a job shows up in the paper.<br/>The reader decides to take the job, and the four archangel brothers down right love her. One of them seems to start really feeling the love, though.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy, I plan on making this a few chapters long. Now, I've never been anywhere up state (especially not New York.) SOOOOO, if I miss something up please tell me. Thanks guys!
> 
> h/c - hair color  
> e/c - eye color  
> y/n - your name  
> h/t - home town  
> h/s - home state

Centuries ago, a large mansion was built. It was five stories high which was rather uncommon in the dirty outskirts of New York. Or, what was to be New York. Man had just started laying down the foundation for the city when construction started on the home. It took nearly ten years for it be finished because of how far back in the woods it lied. Only certain workers were allowed to help build while the commoners built the twenty foot brick wall around the fifteen acres of land. From back then to now, it has expanded. The road that lead to the main doors now paved in decent gray stone. The gates that had been rusting now replaced with stable black iron. The wall that surrounded it had been washed. The mansion looked brand new, but of course, it was far from that.

The garden had been beautiful back when man was starting anew, but now it wrapped around the back yard like a blanket. Trees and multi-colored flowers created their own forest while a gray stone cut long, thin pathways through it. It had been centuries since someone had cared to the home in such a way. It had never been abandoned, just ignored. Now, in modern-day New York, the mansion fit it.

When it had first been built, they always spoke of the owner as a ghost. No one seemed to know what he looked like, he never stopped by. They did speak of four young men, however. When asked what they looked like, it seemed the workers could not explain for their beauty was too pure. Since then, no one has spoke of these men; no one had seen them again. Once the home was built, it seemed the owner and the four gentlemen vanished. The gates closed; the house locked off; no one entered, no one left.

Then something was put in the newspapers

 

“Housemaid needed?” you repeated to yourself upon getting the newspaper. You were new in the big apple, so the address was unfamiliar. You had been desperately looking for a job, finding one being much harder than you had thought. You were stationed in a small, not so up-to-date apartment. The living room, kitchen, and bedroom were all in one area; the bathroom being a small box of its own. You didn’t mind though; it was only temporary.

It was also in a convenient spot. A coffee shop laid below and an ice cream shop across the street. Restaurants thickly dotted every inch of the road for miles The skyline was, well, decent, but beautiful at night. Stars were hard to come by here, but you had caught sight of a few over the past couple of nights. The noise was the only downside, but your music helped that. Millions of people walked under your window every day. Tons of them off to business, others with dogs and friends. Almost all of them carried some kind of food or beverage from one of the countless restaurants and shops. They were loud, all trying to talk over each other. The cars honking and people occasionally sharing unfriendly words. You had only just arrived a week ago, but you felt like you had seen it all.

Your neighbors were sweethearts and seemed to help you whenever they could. The elderly man across the hall claimed to have moved to New York about three years ago, so he understood that you would need help adjusting. The other two, the ones on each side of you, were born and raised Yankees. On the right was a newly wed couple, on the left was a middle-aged woman with three cats. You wouldn’t go as far as to say the made you feel at home, but they surely made it easier for you.

Currently, you stood right in the middle of your apartment with a slightly wet paper in hand. The rain had started last night and carried on to this afternoon. You had missed the newspaper on you way out to job hunt but picked it up when you arrived back home. You clicked your tongue as you placed the newspaper on the kitchen table. It didn’t give an amount of pay or the hours, or even a home number, just that address.

You took off your coat and hung it on a chair. Your shoes were soaked, so you kicked them off and hurried out of your socks. You were ready for a warm bath, and then you would think about it. You made sure your door had locked behind you because sometimes it wouldn’t. Then everything you had on came off. You started the water for a bath but realized you might need a shower. You didn’t smell all that great, and you had more job hunting tomorrow. So you got the shower running and stepped in. You had soaked yourself good before you started washing your hair and body.

Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to run by the address and see what they offered. You weren’t down for cleaning after other people, but hell, it was a start. Perhaps you should discuss the job with one of your neighbors, see if the place had a bad rap. Yea, the old man across the hall seemed like a good start. Not now of course, after a long day of interviews and disappointed faces, you were ready just to kick it back.

You finished washing up and stepped out into the cold air. You wrapped a towel around your chest and walked into the livingroom half of the apartment. A small box T.V. sat on a small stand. You debated turning it on, but last time you did it spazzed out and turned off. No, you would just watch Netflix off your computer.

After grabbing a snack out the cabinet and putting on some warm pajamas, you turned on your laptop. You considered on watching some new show that had just been add. You read the description; it was about two brothers fighting the supernatural. It seemed kind of overrated, but you still saved it for later. You kept scrolling until a particular movie title stuck out to you. You instantly clicked play. Not even half way through the movie, you had fallen asleep.

 

Your alarm in you room went off, letting you know another day had arrived, and you needed to get moving. With a groan, you closed your still open laptop. With heavy feet, you marched to the alarm clocked and slammed the snooze button. You slept good last night, but the alarm clock just wasn’t your cup of tea.

You fixed breakfast, which was a bowl of cereal. You dressed is something nice, something that would make sure you got a job. Unfortunately, you lacked a dress suit, so black skinny jeans and a decent, professional looking shirt was the best you could do. Staring in the mirror, you applied a small amount of make-up. You could look like shit later. You decide to keep you (h/c) hair down. With a deep breath, you looked yourself in the mirror, straight into your mirrored eyes, and mentally told yourself that today would be the day.

Before leaving, you grabbed your coat and the newspaper off the table. You hadn’t forgotten to go speak to the man across the hall. When you left your apartment, you made sure the door locked, and turned around only to knock on his door. After a moment and the sound of locks being fumbled with, the door opened to show the elderly man. He wore suit pants but a regular blue shirt. His hair was thin and white, as white as his teeth that he flashed in a smile. He sagged badly under his eyes, and he always seemed to be jerking slightly. You wanted to tell him to sit down, but he had told you when you first met that it was nothing, so you left it alone.

“Hey! I hope you're having a good morning.” You said, returning his smile.

“Oh, of course. The damn coffee machine of mine is broken, so I guess I’ll wake myself up,” he laughed. His voice was raspy and weak, but he seemed so full of life.

“Oh, well you want me to grab you a coffee from downstairs?” You asked. Something about this man made you want to help it. Maybe because of how nice he seemed. You knew it had been merely a week, but you could trust him. He had that atmosphere about him.

“That would be lovely, let me grab you some money.” He turned, but you held your hand up, stopping him.

“No, I got it,” she smiled at him before turning, then you suddenly remembered. “Oh! I almost forgot, can I ask you question when I get back. It’s about this job, and I just want to know if you’ve heard of the place.”

The old man grinned to big. It was almost like he enjoyed being asked to help. He probably did; you hadn't seen anyone else come talk to him. You were almost sure that the thought of being needed made this man feel like a million bucks. It almost made your heart hurt to think of this man so alone. He was so sweet.

“Of course. Oh, I like mine just black.”

You gave him a grin and walked to the stairs.

 

When you reached the coffee shop on the first floor, you had to wait in a small line. The place seemed pretty packed this morning. You looked around; the shop was small with green wallpaper. The lights were dimmed down to allow the natural light do more work. Of course, little light broke through the rain. You smiled; the place was cozy. The smell of coffee and the soft chitchat of the people. It made you sleepy as well.

When it was your turn, you told the young blonde that you wanted a coffee, black, and ordered you a little something as well. The young man kept his head low, refused to make eye contact or return your welcoming smile. It sort of offended you, honestly. When he turned to make your drinks was when he lifted his head up. While grabbing lids for your drinks, you got a glance of breathtaking blue eyes. Then, he turned around, his head now low.

Before you left, you asked, “Is everything okay?”

Finally, he glanced up at you; those blue orbs catching your (e/c) orbs. You stared at him thoughtfully, genuinely concerned. He grinned, almost in a flirtatious manner. A small beard was starting to grow below his thin lips. His skin was almost flawless, and suddenly you couldn’t remember what you had just asked him, until he answered.

“Wonderful,” his smooth voice said.

You blinked, shoved the newspaper in your coat pocket and picked up your coffees. You nodded at him, “Keep your head up; you have beautiful eyes. You could get more tips that way.”

He smiled at you as you left and made you way back upstairs.

 

You knocked softly on the door, not trying to spill the drinks. The man opened it, and the happiness that filled his eyes almost broke your heart. Had he not expected you to return?

You handed him his coffee. “I hope I got it right. I mean, I doubt I could screw up a coffee, but you know.” You grinned at him as he took a sip and then held the drink away from him, covering his mouth. “Oh goodness, did I give you mine?” you asked frantically.

He forced swallowed, “No, no dear, it was just hotter than I expected.”

You relaxed, “Oh, yea I should have warned you, sorry.”

He smiled, “So this job?”

Again, you had almost forgotten. You used your free hand to pull out the newspaper from your coat pocket. “Yea, this maid job right there in the bottom right.” You handed him the paper. “It doesn’t give a name, an amount of pay, or even a number. Just that address, and well, I have no idea where it is or if it’s even safe.”

The elderly man looked over the article, reading it twice. You waited, sipping on your drink. Finally, he handed you back the paper. You looked at him worried, but he reassured you with another grin. “Well, from what I can see without my glasses, it looks like it’s that old home at the edge of New York.”

“The edge?” you repeated, realizing how far away that was from where you stood now. “Well, what of it? Is it safe or?”

The man’s hands, shaking softly, came up in between you and him. “I don’t know; the place has been a ‘No Enter’ zone since around the beginning of the 1700’s.”

You marvel at him, “The house is that old? That’s incredible.”

He seemed to lighten up at your interest, “Yep, sure is. Not much known about it, but it supposed to so beautiful that rumor says-” he put a hand at his mouth as if he was whispering a secret, “-that even angels go to visit the garden behind the home.”

You smiled at his joy of telling you about the house. “Must be beautiful to get angels out of Heaven,” you joked. “Do you think someone must have just bought it?”

He seemed to think on this question a little too hard, but finally answered, “I don’t remember it ever going up for sale, but it could be possible.”

He tried to sip on his coffee, but must have found it still too hot. You thought a moment, if it had just been bought, would anyone you knew know the people who bought it? Maybe you should go anyways, see if it felt right. Or maybe you wanted to go to see if it was just as beautiful as the rumor said.

“I think you should check it out. If you don’t like it, then don’t take the job,” the man said, interrupting your thoughts.

“That sounds like a great idea. I guess I’ll go today, get it out the way. I’ll make sure to tell you if it is as beautiful as they say,” you replied.

He beamed at you, “That would be wonderful. Thank you so much for the coffee. I hope you have luck with this job.”

With a smile and a small wave, he closed the door. You sipped on your coffee before heading back downstairs. Hopefully, a taxi would be available, you were not okay with walking all that way. You made sure you had your wallet as your foot hit the paved sidewalk. When you glanced up all you saw were faces, people were walking to and fro, and you prayed again that a taxi would pick you before someone else. You also noticed that it was no longer raining, thank goodness.

As you made your way the end of the sidewalk to thumb down a yellow ride, a man bumped into you and you almost fell. Your coffee now all over the pavement. He grabbed your shoulder and made sure you were steady. He opened his mouth, but you spoke before he did.

“Sorry, I should have looked both ways,” you joked in a soft voice that you doubted he heard over the roar of the morning crowd.

“It would be safest that way,” he seemed to joke back. His voice was deep and very monotonous, but that did not keep a small smile off his face. You looked the man over; he was taller than you in an extremely nice business suit. He was dark skinned with deep brown eyes. He had full lips and a lovely face. His hand was very warm and gentle on your shoulder. He dropped it once he realized it was still there.

You blinked a few times before turning back to the road. You figured he had moved on, but he stood beside you. You glanced up at him, “Can I help you, sir?”

The smile was gone, no excitement or kindness seemed to show on his face now as it had just mere seconds ago. He glared down at you. His eyes still had a hint of a smile, so maybe it was just business manner to look so intimidating. “Only trying to get a taxi, and you?”

You turned back at the road, spotting a cab pulling close so you flagged him down. “Trying to get one as well.”

The man waited with you until the yellow vehicle noticed you; then he spoke once more.

“What do you have planned?”

“Oh, I’m just checking out this job. I just moved in a week ago, so I’m still getting settled,” you tried to reply kindly. “What about you, if you don’t mind me asking?”

He looked up at the cab as he answered you, “Late for a business meeting. I would walk, but I don’t think showing up all sweaty will get me any closer to sealing this deal.” A glint of humor showed in his eyes, but you could tell he was trying to be professional.

Finally, the taxi made it over to you. As you reached for the door, you realized that this could be the mans job on the line. He could need this deal bad, and what were you doing? Taking a cab from him? He already had a job; you weren’t even sure if you would get this maid one. No, another taxi would show up, you were sure.

With a sigh, you moved from the door and turned to the man, “You can have this one, my thing isn’t as important.”

He glanced at you in disbelief, almost shock. With a stiff step to the door, he climbed into the back. “Thank you,” he said, then closed the door.

The cab drove off as you watched it. Well, you guessed you could walk down the road a little, try to catch another one. So that’s what you did, and to your surprise, there was a one waiting about two blocks down. No one was in the back, so you rushed to the car, trying to get it before anyone else.

When you finally came up to the taxi you noticed the window was down. You lowered your head to speak to the driver through the window, “Are you open for business?”

The man smiled. He had jet black hair, and when he looked up at you, you saw he had green eyes. His eyes were so indescribable that you felt rude for staring. “Of course, where to?”

You scrambled into the back seat before handing the man the newspaper. “Right there in the corner, the address for the maid's job.”

He found the address and handed you back the paper. He started the car pulled into the road without even looking the address up. Well, the home did seem well known from how the elderly man spoke about it. Before you realized it, you had asked the driver a question.

“Have you seen it? This house.”

You could see him smile from the back seat, and he spoke to you through the rearview mirror, “not directly, no. I have heard it’s beautiful.”

“A friend of mine went so far as to say the angels visit the garden it has. It kind of makes me nervous but then again I’m really excited.”

“Well, it’s a large house, so I hope you're not the only one applying for the job,” he told you.

“Really? How big is it do you think?” You started worrying a little, if the house was exceptionally big, would you be the only one cleaning it? Goodness, you hoped not. You let out an easy breath; you hadn’t even applied for the job yet, just going to check it out. You could still turn back.

“You must be new,” he analyzed. “The thing is a mansion. Five stories tall I’ve heard some say.”

You swallowed hard, “I pray it’s not.”

He thought that was funny because he chuckled softly. The noise made your body relax, and you grinned. You looked out the window and watched as the city passed you by. The sky seemed to still look gloomy, but at least the rain had stopped.

“I hate to distract you from the road, but do you think this outfit is job-getting worthy?” you asked as you turned back to the front of the car.

The driver examined you through the rearview mirror before replying. “I think that they're going to need a good excuse to not hire you.”

You smiled, your nerves settling a bit before you glanced back out the window.

“What made you want this job, anyway? Seems like something a bit beneath you, don’t you think?” He asked.

“Oh no, most definitely not. I mean, I hate cleaning, but it’s not beneath me. I’m new in town, you see. So right now I’m at the bottom of the low, so technically, this job is above me. If the house is as fantastic as they say, this job could be a bit above anyone,” you responded, hardly turning from the window.

He made a noise of agreement, so you assumed he liked your answer. The rest of the trip was in silences.

 

It took forever to get through the morning traffic, and then a little longer to reach the house. You didn’t even know New York had this many trees. The house was hidden in its own forest. Finally, the driver turned on an empty road. A good minute or two had passed before he slowed in front of an iron gate. You gazed through the window; the brick wall was huge, the gates were beautiful, and from what you could see, the land was well taken care of.

“It’s already beautiful,” you gasped, “I bet the house itself is going to be wonderful.”

The man put the car in parked and turned to look at you, “You want me to wait?”

You forced your eyes off the picture perfect gateway to stare at his glorious green eyes. “No, I couldn’t ask you to do that. I’m sure it’ll take me half an hour to walk to the house.”

The man grinned and turned around as you left the cab. Suddenly you jerked around just as the cab started to turn around. “Wait!” you screamed. The taxi came to a sudden halt. You rambled for your wallet in your pockets and waited for him to roll down the passenger window. “Surely you wouldn’t drive off without me paying.” You handed the man some money, “keep the change.”

You turned to the gates and the car drove off. Now, how did you get in? You glanced around the black iron and the red brick. Nothing indicated a com system, so what now? You turned around, but the cab was long gone. You swallowed hard, figuring you would try to walk on in.

With empty hope, you placed your hand on the sun warmed iron and pushed. You thought it gave a little, so you pushed harder. It slightly moved, so you used both hands and forced it open just enough to allow you through. By the time you had that accomplished, you were breathing heavy, and your arms were weak. You prayed they had a better way of getting in. If you got this job, you didn’t want to have to do that every morning.

You pulled your jacket closer around you and started marching up the stoned driveway. On the way up, you noticed how many trees randomly spotted the front yard. Their leaves were wet with rain but as green as green could get. The grass was the same color, neatly cut and with different flowers growing around almost every tree. The colors were so vibrant, so fabulous. The gloomy sky didn’t put a damper on the brightness that shone from the simple flower petal.

The gray stone went on and on. Finally, you saw the home. You froze.

The cab driver had a been right; it was five stories high. The man across the hall was also right, it was...there were no words.

The large house was bricked in multiple reds and browns. The windows were large and so clean that the gray sky reflected clearly in them. The stairs to the large, dark oak doors were a heart-stopping marble stone. Rose bushes lined the mansions base, and small black-eyed susan vines sat in a large, sky blue pot beside the double doors. The rain had weighed down the flowers petals, but their colors were still bright and eye catching.

You walked to the closest rose bush, just a step off the paved path. Your finger traced the rose petals as you cupped it in your palm. It was so smooth; you brought it up to your nose to smell it. The aroma filled your nostrils and sunk deep into your lungs. It was so pure, so sweet.

“Not my favorite, but they are lovely.”

The gentle, playful voice caught you off guard, causing you to jerk around. When you glanced up at the man on the top of the stairs, you were taken aback. His light brown hair and striking whiskey brown eyes seemed too strong for his relaxed stances and soft voice.

You must have been gapping, because he went on to say, “Might want to close that before you swallow a fly.” A genuine smile broke out across his whole face.

You blushed and closed your mouth, walking back onto the path until you were at the foot of the stairs. “I’m sorry. I’m (y/n); I’m here for the maid job you had in the newspaper.”

The man’s eyes seemed to widen at the news and motioned you up the stairs. “Well, what are you standing out here for? Come on in.”

You happily obeyed and hopped up the stairs until you were at his side. He turned to the large doors and started to walk; you followed suit.

“Tell me about yourself, (y/n). Any past experiences? Any criminal history?” The man joked. Already you seemed to relax, not previously realizing how tense up you were. Your shoulders sagged, and your legs became lighter to move. You allowed a carefree smile to show up on your lips.

“No, no. I assure you there is no criminal history,” you laughed. “And, no, I haven’t had any past experiences. Unless, of course, cleaning my room counts.”

He chuckled softly at that one as he pushed the door open to allow you through. You nodded your head in thanks and turned to walk in. You had made it two steps into the home before you gasped in surprise. The walls looked to be made out of marble, pure and almost solid white marble. The top and bottom of each wall were lined with a bright, gold looking carving. The room you walked into was large with nothing in it but a few stands carrying vases and some paintings. The vases were made to look like real jade stone, with bright pink, blue, and purple flowers in each of them. The paintings consist of a copy of the Mona Lisa, Starry Night, The Creation of Adam, and tons more. Right in the middle of them all, right across from the door, hung a copy of The Last Supper.

You felt him move in behind you as the door closed. Finally, you found your voice.

“This place is beautiful.”

“Kind of gets old after a while. Trust me.”

You turned to him, almost shocked that he could say something like that. You never had in your whole life seen something so magnificent. He looked at you with humor in his eyes. You noticed that even when he was standing still, a small smile always seemed to be tugging at his lips, which were thin.

He clapped his hands together in a sudden movement that made you jump a little. “Well, today I will be getting to know you, and we will make a choice from there.” As he spoke he started walking, you were still a bit dazed, so you had to run up to catch him. He started making turns, and you saw how graceful he took every step. It was as if he had walked these same floors a million times.

“We?” you asked him, wondering how many people lived here. You were a fool to think it was just him.

“Oh yea. My brothers and I. There is four of us total and let me tell you they are a pain in the ass. Most the time.” You laughed at his unprofessional honesty.

Only four men? Surely this house could fit everyone in your apartment complex three times over and still have room. What a large waste of space, but of course, they sure had decorated too much amazement.

Somehow, through all the twist in turns, he had gotten you two outside to the back porch. Again, the same marble stone, but this time black, coated the porch. No rails, just a large area with two staircases on each side. You knew you were gapping once more. No way anyone had the money for this. Your heart seemed to hurt because of the beauty, but what caught you most was a small hint of green on the other side of the porch area. Without knowing, you had started to walk to the edge of the black marble. The closer you got, the more the trees came into few. When you had finally made it to the corner, you were looking downhill at the most luscious garden in the word. The trees towered over half the area, but bright colored flowers seemed to fight to show their heads through the trees thick leaves. Where the two staircases ended, the gray stone appeared again, making a walkway that combined right at the tree line. A thin path seemed to disappear from view under the trees protective covering. The garden went on and on, and on. 

The handsome man seemed to wait for you as you tried to learn how to breath again. You couldn’t see it, but a smile much larger than the one early had broken out across his face. His light brown eyes glistened with admiration. Slowly, he walked up to your side, overlooking the beautiful back yard with you. He could tell you wanted to talk, to scream in excitement at the breathtaking view. You were frozen, trying to see every each of the yard from the top of the marble mountain you stood on. Your task was impossible, however.

“So, how long have you lived in New York. Or are you from Jersey?” He looked at you worried-like at the end of his sentences. You turned to him, reluctantly peeling your eyes from the glowing plants.

It took awhile for you to process his words; your mind still fuzzy. “I just moved to New York,” you almost whispered, still in amazement.

He raised an eyebrow as his eyes widen slightly, “Oh, well I hope everything is going well.” You nodded. The man placed a hand on your shoulder and turned you around. You noticed too comfy looking chairs that you must have missed in you staring. “Well, seat down and this is how will do it. You tell me about you, I’ll tell you about us.”

You sat down as he did the same. He leaned towards you, you almost thought he was excited to hear about you. “Well, I moved to New York about a week ago. I originally lived in (h/t), (h/s). Of course, things didn’t work out there, so here I am. Trying to get a job and pay my bills.”

“Is it as grand as you thought it would be?” He asked.

You relaxed more into your chair. “It hasn’t proven me otherwise just yet. I have met plenty of people, and a lot of them nicer than I would have thought.”

“I hope I’m one of those people,” he said in a flirtatious way, winking. Your cheeks redden, and you cut your eyes to the garden. “Any brothers or sisters?”

You turned back to him, “Oh no, I’m the only one. Besides, you make being a sibling sound hard.” You tried to give him a friendly grin, but you were sure he saw your shyness from his earlier comment.

“Yea, it’s a pain. I’m the youngest, so I get my ass kicked half the time.”

“Really? How old are you?” You asked him, slightly interested.

His eyes meet yours, and you felt your body tense back up. “You never ask a man that.” He said in an extremely serious voice, but before you could panic, he broke into laughter. Your fear must have shown on your face. “Your face, oh that's gold. No, no it’s okay really.”

He still hadn’t answered your question, so you figured you would leave it alone. After his laughter had calmed down, he proceeds to ask “Why do you want this job anyway? I mean look at you, you're much too pretty to try for a job like this.”

A blush tickled your cheeks as you once again looked at the garden to stare away from his eyes. He was very nice and had a fun loving feel about him, but he was very flirty. “I don’t think my beauty should determine what you consider I can and can not enjoy doing. I mean, cleaning isn’t my favorite thing on the list, but I enjoy helping people if I can. It’s just what I do best.”

For once, it seemed he didn’t have a comment or a sly smile to respond with your statement. You glanced back at him to see if you had somehow offended him, but he only looked at you with deep adoration. You wanted to turn back to the garden, but you also want him to say something. The silence made you uncomfortable.

Finally, he snapped out of it once he realized you were waiting on him. He clasped his hands on his knees and leaned back into the chair. “I guess it’s my turn for storytime,” he said, which gained a chuckle out of you. “Where to start? Well, for starters, there are four of us, and we do not get along all the time. I mean, when we're not trying to rip each other apart, we can have a real good time. Do not get me started on the last time we brought alcohol in this house. Just for future references, the oldest can not hold his.”

Once more, you relaxed as you watched the loving emotions pass through his eyes. The way he spoke of his brothers was with a tone of love and hate, but more protection than anything. Everything he said, though, was hidden under a playful voice. He went on.

“Between all of us, me and the second oldest get along the best but were the messiest. The other two are all goody-two-shoes and what not. Don’t get me wrong, Luci is the same way, but he doesn’t have a stick up his ass all the time.”

“You have a brother named Luci?”

“Oh naw, that’s just a nickname.”

“Oh, well on the statement of you being messy, the house seems to be perfectly clean,” you say remembering the front yard and the inside of the house.

“Ah, yes. That. See, we're not looking someone to clean up the messes we’ve already made. We’re kind of looking for someone to clean up so we can start getting messy.” He explained.

You thought that over. “So you’re only hiring people so you can start making messes?”

“Yea, everyone is getting tired of having to clean up after themselves and it’s just a catastrophe.”

You honestly couldn’t believe your ears. You have thought he was joking had he not seemed to truthful about it. He stared at you, waiting to see what you would say. You couldn’t tell him how stupid that was; you needed this job. Wait...

“Okay. Well, I hate to be so blunt, but how much does this job even pay. That's five stories I’m going to have to clean.” You said, pointing at the house.

“How much you want?”

What? That’s not how it worked; he shouldn’t be asking you. No, he should have told you how much he was going to pay you. Was this him joking around again? You raised an eyebrow at the attractive man, who was now smiling at you. Your apartment bill wasn’t too high, but it was up there. You guess if he were being serious, you could test your luck.

“Twenty an hour,” you stated, looking back at the huge house. You half expected to him laugh, or turn you down. He did the exact opposite.

“Deal.”

You turned back at him, never had you been paid that much for anything. “Really?”

He half laughed as he stood from his chair and made a full circle around you, his hands in the air. “Have you seen this house, of course we can pay you that. Hell, you want double, we’ll give that to you as well. I mean, trust me, were going to be a hand full.”

“You act like I’ll be cleaning after children, your grown men.”

“Grown men are the worse kind of kinds, sweetheart.”

He took your hand as you stood from the chair, shaking it as if to finalize the deal. Your whole body got hot; his hand was so warm and soft. It made your stomach twist to have this man touch you.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name Mister-?”

“Just call me Gabriel, Gabe for short but that’s your choice.”

The name seemed to ricochet around in your head. It was so typical, but so different coming from his mouth. Again, you were drawn to his eyes as he released your hand.

“I’m guessing this means you’re taking the job? Because you got it if you want,” he assured you.

You looked at the house again, “How many others have you hired.”

He turned to the house like you, his mouth to one side and his brow raised. Something told you that you weren’t going to like his answer.

“Just you sunshine.”

No, you did not like that answer at all. You couldn’t help but turn to him and exclaim “What!”

He laughed and turned back to the garden, “Oh, don’t worry your pretty little head too much. You got this under control. Besides, like you said, you’re not cleaning up after children.”

You took a deep breath, looking out over the garden once again. The gloomy sky and the soft breeze seemed to calm your nerves. You could always quit, you told yourself. If this became overbearing, you could most surely find another job. Good pay and friendly company, or at least, Gabriel was nice. His older brothers sounded like a handful.

“Yea, I guess I’ll give it a shot.”

Gabriel was thrilled at your answer. He promised once again that it wouldn’t be too much for you to handle. With one last glance to the backyard, you smiled. Gabriel took you into the house only to show up on the front stairs.

“I know I said me and the bros needed to talk about it, but screw that. Just come back next week. Same day, let's say around... ten in the morning? That’ll give you time to get all the way here from in town.”

“That sounds great, thank you.” You said. You headed down the stairs and down the stone path. Something in your mind seemed fuzzy. Was it all the handsome faces you had seen today? Or was it how easy it was to get this job despite all the others shooting you down? You smiled, thinking back when his hand had touched yours. That was it. His touch still rang through your body like electricity. You couldn’t wipe the smile off your face.

Finally, you returned to the iron gate that was still cracked open. You made your way to the other side. When you turned to close the gate, you heard a voice behind you.

“Need some help?”

You turned around to be greeted with the cab driver. His green eyes stared your way, behind him was the yellow car. You were more than thankful and shocked that he was here. Now that he was standing, you could see how much taller he was than you. He was down right gorgeous.

A smile broke across his face as he walked in front of you, grabbed the gate with both hands, and closed it with easy. You stared at his arms, how in the hell?

“Thank you so much. I thought you had left.”

“I came back. Figured you would need a ride back. Couldn’t have you walking all that way.”

You gave him a huge, thankful smile as he walked you to the car.

Once you were in, and he had you both half way down the empty road, he asked, “So, how did it go?”

You smiled at the rearview mirror. “I start next week.”

He seemed a little disturbed at your answer but flashed you his pearly whites anyway. He turned back to the road; you stared out the window. Something in your stomach longed to return to the home already. You wanted to see that man's face again.

The rest of the trip was in silences, and it wasn’t until you were parked outside your apartment that you hadn’t even told him where you lived. You stared at him awkwardly for a moment before reaching in your bag for his payment.

“Keep it,” he said.

You gave him a thank you and hopped out the car. You made sure he drove off this time before you turned to go up the stairs. Right at the base of the stairs, you turned to look through the glass window of the coffee shop. The blond man with the blue eyes wasn’t there anymore. You shrugged and headed up.

When you got on your level, you knocked on the old man's door. It took a while, but you waited until he appeared. You beamed at him, dying to tell him how right he was.

“What is it, sweetheart?”

“I told you I would tell you how the place looked, right? Well, you were right! The house was beautiful. The inside was even more so. And the back yard, there is no doubt in my mind that angels don’t go walking through there. It was absolutely perfect!” You rushed, you were more excited now that you were talking about it than when you were really there. Now, it seemed all real.

The elderly man listened to your every word. “It sounds prettier than I had thought. Did you get a job?” He asked, almost as excited as you.

You nodded, and he pulled you into an unexpected hug, laughing as he did so. You were a bit reluctant at first at the contact, but you figured he needed a hug as much as you did. After returning the hug, he told you how proud he was, which was also unexpected. After a while of describing the house and the man, Gabriel, to the old man, he closed the door, and you went to your room.

There was still a full day ahead, but you decided you should finally get that warm bath you wanted to bad. You had a week to yourself, no more job hunting and fake smiles. You took off your coat and then your clothes. You filled the bath and sinked chin deep into the water. Thank God.


	2. Nick, Nick, Nick

Ever since the old man across the hall’s coffee machine had broken, you had been heading downstairs every morning to get both of you some joe. He always greeted you with a smile; he would take the drink which shook slightly in his unsteady hands, and you would both talk for a while. You enjoyed your talks because each day you both opened up a little more. He told you that he had moved her for his wife. There was a particular doctor in New York that they had thought could help her. At first, the treatment was working wonders, she was moving again and singing around the house. Then one day, the treatment went sour, and he no longer had her. That was a year ago.

He never told you what disease his wife had, but you never pushed. He went on to tell you that he loved reading and old jazz. You shared your taste in music and that you also loved to read. He said that he was addicted to sweets but was a diabetic. You told a little about your hometown, and he shared his, which happened to be overseas. You were shocked. He went on to explain that he was fluent in many languages and always wanted to come to America, but never had a reason until three years ago. From there, he told you about the cities that you could only dream about. Then one day, he mentioned the mansion.

“You start working tomorrow, don’t you?”

You blinked at him clueless, having lost track of the days already. You had been so laid back the past week that you hadn’t even thought to look at the date. He was right, as he most the time was. “It seems that way.”

“Are you nervous?” He asked you, sipping on his coffee.

Just at the mentioning of the house made your stomach turn, but it wasn’t the home that made you nervous. “Yea,” you said, your cheeks blushing just enough to have the man raise an eyebrow.

You smiled, knowing he would want you to explain, so you did. “The guy that met me for the meeting, he was just really nice.”

“Just nice? Sweetheart, I might need glasses, but I am not blind.”

His acknowledgment of your attraction made you blush even harder. “Well, he wasn’t bad looking,” you admitted.

He chuckled at seeing how flustered he had made you. “And what was the man's name?”

You would be lying if you had said that telling the elderly man about your attraction to Gabriel didn’t make your stomach knot up and cause butterflies to dance. Gabriels face would randomly pop in your head over the past week. His smile and bright eyes seemed to hold your attention the most, but you always pushed those thoughts aside. If you were going to be working for this man, you didn’t need his looks getting in your way. One of the many things that worried you about this job was his brothers. What if they were just as good looking?

“Gabriel,” you finally answered.

The elderly man’s face turned into something of profound confusion. Whatever he was thinking, he didn’t put it into words. His look caused you to worry.

“Well, I hope things go well,” he said, his voice much nicer than his face let on.

You swallowed hard before telling him goodbye and heading into your apartment. After a while of standing at your door, you went to pick out the clothes for tomorrow. You set your alarm and checked to make sure you had cereal for breakfast. You had a whole day still, what would you do now? You hadn’t been to that ice cream shop across the street yet, so that’s where you would go.

You grabbed your coat; the weather outside was cooler this morning. You checked for your wallet and made sure the door closed behind you. Once downstairs you walked to the nearest crosswalk, got yourself to the other side of the road and walked back down to the ice cream shop. Once inside, you found yourself at the end of a long line. As you waited, you realized that the line was moving fast, and suddenly you were third in line. Then, a large hand placed itself on your shoulder that caused you to turn around. You were met with blue eyes, blonde hair, and a half smile.

“You’re the women from the coffee line, correct?” The man asked, his hand dropping from your shoulder.

It took you a moment to remember; he was the man that had made your coffee a week ago. You hadn’t seen him there since that day, but you could never truly forget those eyes. “Yes I am, and you are the man that made my coffee.”

His face didn’t change from the half smile, but his eyes lit up. “That’s me.”

You smiled and stuck out your hand, “Nice to meet you...?”

He took your hand and shook it. His hand was huge compared to yours, but it made you feel oddly safe. “Just call me Nick.”

Someone behind you cleared their throat. You turned to see you were next in line. You walked to the counter and told the young redhead what you wanted. When she handed you a cone of your favorite ice cream, you already had the money in hand. Before you could give the money to her, however, Nick step in front of you.

“I got it,” he told you, paying for your ice cream.

You told him he didn’t have to but the women was already handing him back his change. When he turned back to you, you told him thank you. He waved it away like it was nothing. You turned to sit down at one of the round tables, assuming he would order his own ice cream. When you sat down, though, he was sitting down on the opposite side.

“Don’t you want any ice cream?” You asked him, giving him a weird look.

Finally, his half smile became a full one, and his sweet voice said, “I didn’t come for the ice cream.”

Just like with Gabriel, you darted your eyes somewhere else, in this case it was out the window, as your cheeks burned. He just stared at your reddening face, so you knew at some point you would have to break the silences. You swallowed hard, and turned back to him but kept your head to the table.

Unexpectedly, his fingers placed themselves right under your chin and lifted your head up, he then repeated your words, “Keep your head up, you have beautiful eyes.”

You smiled, “Well, I’m just going to go out on a limb here and say you're here for me. So, in that case, what do you want to discuss.”

He leaned back in his chair. “Why did you order two coffee’s that day?”

“Oh, that. This old man lives across the hall from me and his coffee machine broke. I just wanted to do something nice for him.”

He looked through the glass and across the street. His hand came up and pointed to the apartments, “Do you live in the one that faces this way, above the Cafe?”

“Yep.”

He raised an eyebrow, a mischievous smile replacing the other one. When he turned back to you, it was like the atmosphere shifted. No longer was it friendly, but it was almost like a passionate tension vibrated the air around the both of you. His blue eyes looked at you as if he felt nothing, so maybe it was in your head. Then why was your heart beating so fast? Why did your whole body warm under his gaze?

You focused on your ice cream for a couple of passing minutes, waiting for the tension to disappear. He placed his hands on the table, waiting for you to talk, but what was there to say?

Nick just watched you. How your hair fell around your face and how your eyes seemed to look everywhere but him. It was pathetically adorable, and he hated to admit it. He hated being here, honestly, but he was dying to see you. For his own reasons, of course. Someone had told him a lot of good things about you, and he had to see it himself.

He tried to lighten up more and ease the uncomfortable tension. With a soft grunt, he leaned forward. “What’s someone like you doing in a place like this?”

You couldn’t believe that as soon as he asked you that, the atmosphere seemed to move back into place. It was like you could breath again, and you could finally handle his stare. “Oh, just trying to start anew. Isn’t that why everyone comes here?”

“How is that going for you?”

“Better than I could have ever hoped. Only took me a week to get a job, and I’ve made some lovely friends. The apartment isn’t any better than my house back home, but it’s just a start.”

“Where do you work?”

“There was this ad in the paper for some maid’s job. It isn’t the best job I’ve ever had, but the man I meet with seemed nice, so I guess it’ll work out well.” You couldn’t fight the smile that spread across your face at the thought Gabriel.

“Well, it’s a start,” Nick said. How he said it reminded you of the old man. He didn’t mention how pretty you were or that that job was below you. No, he just smiled and spoke with a soothing tone. The old man hadn’t even commented on the job, just talked about the house. The similarity between the two of them made you feel more comfortable around Nick.

“How long have you been working there?” He asked.

“I don’t start till tomorrow.”

“Oh,” was all he said as he glanced out the window. He stood then, and you assumed your conversation with him was over. He gave you a smile and patted your shoulder, “see you tomorrow.”

You didn’t get time to question him on that before he was out the door. You stared at the door in complete and utter confusion. When you turned back around, you started at your ice cream before mumbling, “New York, man. What the hell is in the water.”

 

The next day your alarm went off, but you were already awake. You blinked at the ceiling before climbing out of bed and getting dressed. You dressed nice but still comfortable since you would be doing a lot of moving. You ate your cereal and brushed your teeth. While you were in front of the mirror, you looked over yourself. Your hair was down, but you grabbed a hair bow for later. Your eyes looked tired, so you applied a little make-up. You winked at yourself before grabbing your coat and walking out the door.

You made sure the door shut and made your way downstairs and marched into the coffee shop. This morning the line was short, only one person ahead of you. You looked around, and something caught your eye just over the corner. It was a particular blonde head of hair, and you smiled. Someone was keeping their head up today.

When it was your turn, you didn’t even bother asking for coffee. “So, I guess you would see me today,” you said, smiling flirtatiously at the man in a joking manner.

When Nick saw you, he smiled back. “So it seems I would.”

“Now, you can’t run out on me today, you have to make my coffee.”

He breathed out an honest laugh, making his smile more profound. “What will it be today?”

“One coffee, black, and the same thing I got last week,” you said, hoping he would remember.

“Is that old man’s coffee machine broke again?” He asked you as he turned to make the coffee.

“He never had it fixed. Or at least, he hasn’t told me if he had.”

Nick let out a huff as he gave you the black coffee and went to work on yours. You watched him as he moved around; his tall stature and strong arms seemed to captivate you more than it had the last few times you and him had talked. It was as if you saw more then his eyes for once.

He handed you your drink, and you paid him, with a small tip. “I want to see you here tomorrow, got it?” You said to him.

He just grinned mischievously, “Actually, I think you’ll be seeing me sooner than you think.”

You didn’t know what to say to that, so you took it as a flirty comment and turned to leave the shop. When you were back upstairs, you knocked on the elderly man’s door. Again, the locks were heard, and he opened the door slowly. You happily handed him the coffee and again his broad grin covered his face. It always broke your heart every time he answered the door, because the look he gave you was always as if he never expected you to return. He took the lid off his coffee and started to blow on it, hoping to cool it down.

“I’m sorry; I can’t talk long this morning,” you told him.

He waved a shaky hand, “Today you start working; I understand. Just make sure to tell me how it went when you get back.”

“You got it, have a nice day,” you waved at him as you started back down the stairs. You heard him close the door, and you mentally reminded yourself to come back after work.

Once outside, you had no trouble flagging down a cab. The man wasn’t the same greened eyed, black hair beauty you had encountered last time, but he got you there just as fast. It seemed you were in front of the iron gates before you knew it, and after you paid the taxi driver, you went to work pushing them open. You would have to asked Gabriel if these things had an automatic switch or something. Over the past week, you had realized how much you had forgot to ask Gabriel, and you hoped this time you got around to it.

Once opened, you debated on closing them. Fighting against yourself, you choose to do so before you headed up the stone path. The sun seemed to still hide behind clouds, but the day was not near as gloomy as it was the last time you walked to the house. The trees and flowers were prettier than they had been that day.

Finally, you made it to the steps, which you climbed two at a time. You stopped to touch the bright yellow flower that was right outside the set of doors. That’s when you heard a rather large crash from inside and someone scream. The scream was muffled by the thick walls and the thick oak doors, but it didn’t sound good.

Slightly worried, you walked to the door and knocked. You were greeted with silences for about a minute or two, then you knocked again. This time, it was a heartbeat after your fist left the door when Gabriel appeared. His golden brown eyes stared at yours for what seemed like forever before he smiled and came outside, closing the door behind him. You noticed that his right cheek was red.

“Are you...I mean, is everything okay?”

“Oh yeah, of course. Everything's fine. Yep.” It was an obvious lie, but you didn’t bother pointing it out.

You looked at the door before asking, “Should we go inside?”

He turned to the dark wooden doors nervously. His mouth moved to one side in thought, and he dug his hands in his pocket. “Yea, about that. I’m glad you're wearing good shoes; there’s a lot of glass, and well...you’ll see.”

You raised an eyebrow at him, which he returned with a half smile and proceed to open the door. Upon entering, you saw that two of the jade-looking vases were broken, and the flowers and water scattered across the floor. The paintings were still in good shape, but the further you walked in, the more you saw. Down the hall to your right where you noticed the stairs were, one more broken vases and two broken chairs. To your left looked fine, besides the stand someone had jerked out from under a vase and broke against something.

Your eyes were huge, and you knew your mouth was opened when you turned back to Gabriel. “I guess you were right, men can be worse than kids.”

He gave you a look of apology as he lifted his shoulders in an I-don’t-know way. You couldn’t help but stare at him in disbelief. You also just couldn’t help but stare at him. His light brown hair was messy and his eyes begged for forgiveness. You slumped under his gaze and turned to the broken vases on the floor.

You carefully dropped to a squat and started picking up the green pieces. You could feel him as he drew closer, so you asked, “How did this even happen?”

Gabriel watched you collect the jade pieces into your hand. The only thing that would come to his mind was ‘graceful’, but it made no senses. All you were doing was picking up him and his brother’s mistake. It was that you did it with no complaint, no comment, just curiosity.

“I warned you that we didn’t get along.”

You made a grunt, “Well, I surely thought you meant something more...nonviolent.”

“Yea,” he laughed nervously. “So...How has your morning been?”

You laughed, looking up to him. “Are you going to stand over me the whole time? And it was fine, thank you for asking.”

“What made it so fine?” He asked in his usual friendly tone.

“Oh, just this sweet little blonde fellow that works near my apartment,” you said, trying to hide your smile but you knew he could hear it in your words. It wasn’t you trying to make him jealous, just picking at him with honesty.

You expected a comeback or some sort of noise, but instead you heard a familiar voice. “You hear that. Gaby? She thinks I’m sweet.”

You stood at the sight of the tall, blue-eyed coffee man. You looked at Gabriel, trying to ask if this was some sort of joke with your expression. He didn’t even look at you, just gave a fake smile to the blonde.

“Luci! So glad your back. Michael was just looking for you.”

Nick, or Luci, crossed his arms. “What did you tell him?”

“Oh, you know, that I saw you leave and how you looked like you were sneaking off. He isn’t very happy.”

“You pathetic shit,” Nick said, his voice calm but a fire brewing in his eyes.

“Watch your mouth, we have a lady in our presences.” Gabriel motioned to you which made you very uncomfortable. You did not want to be dragged into this.

Nick didn’t say anything, just stared his brother down. Suddenly, something clicked inside your head.

“Wait, this is your older brother?” It came out in more of a panic than you had wanted it to. Gabriel finally looked at you.

"Where are my manners? (y/n), this is Luc-”

“Nick,” the blonde said, cutting Gabriel off.

“Sure, Nick. The second oldest.”

You looked at both of them, trying to match up the resemblance. There wasn’t any. Nick towered over Gabriel. Nick’s blue eyes were nowhere close to Gabriel’s bright brown ones. Not even their stances were the similar. Nick stood tall on both feet, while Gabriel always seemed to be moving from side to side, never able to stay still. You just shook your head; you didn’t even want to worry with this. So you dropped back down, picking up the vase pieces.

“Here’s a bag,” Nick said, handing you what looked like a never before used Walmart bag, just without the logo. Where had he pulled this out of? Or had he had it and you were too shocked to notice it? Whichever, you thanked him and placed the pieces you already had in the bag.

“I need to talk to you in the garden,” Nick said to Gabriel. There was a bit in his words, and you had a feeling there would be more of a mess to clean up soon.

Gabriel must have heard it, but he followed his older brother out of your sight. Your mind was still processing the fact that the handsome gentleman that bought your ice cream and served you coffee lived in this castle of a house. Also, why would they so readily break these vases? They were beautiful!

 

After a long hour and a half, you had finally got all the tiny pieces of green off the floor. Your next step was the broken chairs and the stand. You gathered each thick piece of wood and piled it to the side, waiting for one of the boys to return to ask for a garbage bag and a mop. You sighed once you had finished with the wood. Boys, you thought with an eye roll.

You grabbed the tied bag of glass and started hunting for a trash can. You went down the long hallway, marveling over the dozens and dozens of paintings. The house was huge, but you noticed it wasn’t cut into many rooms. To the right of the door was an overly large seating area with a large fireplace. To the left was nothing, just windows and flowers. More paintings and a humongous rug. Past the empty area was a large room. Unlike the others, this one was hidden by walls and a door. Yet, not one trash can. You decided to go further back in the house but was stopped by the sight of a large mirror that went from the floor almost to the roof. You looked yourself over. You still looked like you did this morning, but compared to the gloriousness of the home that appeared behind you, you looked like shit. Your (h/c) hair didn’t shine like the sun that danced through the window. Your (e/c) eyes didn’t glow like the gold color trimming that lined the walls. Hell, not even your skin looked smooth compared to the marble style walls.

Feeling a little down, you gripped the bag firmly in your hand and kept walking. The hall you entered had more rooms, none of them with doors but the one all the way at the end. You walked past each room, trying to spot something or maybe someone. You looked into the first room. You guessed it was supposed to be a sports room or maybe just a T.V. room. You couldn’t tell with all the broken furniture and cracked T.V. screen. You sucked in a deep breath, whispered “Nope.” and headed further down the hall. The second room and the third room was no better. Right after the third room, you were greeted with another hall, the one Gabriel used to take you out to the backyard.

You felt a pain in your heart as the garden came to the front of your mind. No, you had work to do, you couldn’t just go out there. What if the brothers were out there still fighting? You rolled your eyes. If you had known you were going to be working with such violent, childish grown kids, you might have second thought this job. Yet, every room you had passed so far didn’t seem to surprise you. Maybe because of what happened back home.

You shook the memory off and headed to the next room. You were amazed when this one seemed nearly perfect. All but a broken window, this room was spotless. It was huge, like everything else in the house. A blush, lively green couch was settled right in the middle of the room, a rug placed underneath it. Paintings dotted the wall much like it had in the other rooms. These, however, were not famous paintings of just anything, each painting was a portrait of an old musician. The one that stuck out the most was the painting of an angel who was blowing on a long, thin horn. In some way, it fit in, but not in the same respect. The room, as you took it, must have been for music. You weren’t just guessing; musical instruments filled the room. A guitar, a piano, a harp, a violin, a pair of odd looking barrel drums, and a bunch more odd looking musical things.

You couldn’t help but walk in, the smell of the fresh garden catching your noise through the broken window. The hard wooden floor seemed to quiet and stable as your foot touched down inside the room. The room just seemed to dull to feel so joyful. It was almost like you could hear the music that had been played here, as if it the vibrations had been saved in the walls. Your eyes caught an old horn placed on a mantle on the far side of the room. It looked kind of like the one in the painting of the angel, but it wasn’t as long, and it curled at the end. It was a gold color, and it looked brand new. You smiled as you did a full circle in the middle of the room. Music had always been there for you when no one else was, so you couldn’t help but fall straight in love. It was the same feeling religious people get when they walk into a church.

You decided that since the window was broken, you could just add the busted glass to the green pieces you already had in the bag. You untied the bag and opened it up beside you. Carefully, you picked up every piece big enough to grab and added it to the growing pile. What could they have possibly been doing? The glass had been shattered inwards. You glanced outside the window to see a pretty big drop off to the ground, but it looked like someone had been thrown through the window. Going off the tension you saw between Nick and Gabriel, you wouldn’t put it beyond them.

Was he really Nick? You just couldn’t accept it. No way the kind man that complemented your eyes and you as a whole was Gabriel’s brother. You thought back to when Gabriel had done the same thing at your meeting. You guessed that would be the only similarity between the two, they were both flirts. Nick just felt different then Gabriel. Gabriel gave you this feeling of being free and always made you want to smile or laugh. Nick, he made you want to smile, but in a different way. It was as if there was a dominance thing going on, and he was dominating, but in a friendly way. They smiled differently, also. Gabriel’s always took up his whole face, while Nick’s never seemed to reach his eyes. No matter the way he smiled, Nick’s eyes always had some small hint of mischievous-ness. You kept thinking back to this morning when he told you that you would be seeing him soon. That would mean when he asked about the maid job...had he known? Had that been why he bought your ice cream and tried to talk to you? Why would he work at a coffee shop if he lived here?

All these questions but no one to ask. You picked up the last piece of clear glass and stood, tying the bag back. You were going to turn around when something caught your eye outside the windowless window. You could see the tree line starting, but it wasn’t the trees that grabbed your attention. A single purple flower was swaying gently with the breeze. Its green leafs danced, and it almost seemed to be waving. It was just there with nothing but the mountain of trees towering over it. For some reason, you related to the flower. You smiled, deciding that it would be your unique flower.

You turned and left, making a note to tell someone to replace the window before it rained again.

You kept going on down the hall, but none of the rooms had a trash can. You couldn’t help but make a noise of frustration. Where was everything? You started back to the front of the house, not sure is you should head upstairs or outside. When you passed the tall mirror, you kept your head down and turned the corner to the empty room.

When you lifted your head, you noticed a certain brown haired man standing where you once were.

“How did the talk go?” You asked, putting on a smile.

Gabriel jerked around at the sound of your voice. It took a while for the usual smile to appear, but it did. “I was starting to worry that you had run off.”

“You haven’t pushed me that hard, yet.”

“Yet?” He glanced down at the bag in your hand, “I see you’ve been cleaning.”

You chuckled softly as you finally reached his side. “Isn’t that why I’m here?”

“It seems so. What part of the house did you get to explore today?”

“I went looking for a trash can or a mop, or maybe a broom. I found this room with all the instruments and saw the window was broken. Figured I would pick up that glass too. I didn’t even think about starting in those other rooms yet.”

He looked at you as you spoke, watching every word leave your mouth. When you finished, he said, “Would you like a mop or a broom, dear?”

The way he said it, almost like a flirtatious whisper but in a picking kind of way, it made you fight back the redness coming to your cheeks. “Yes, I would love that.”

His smile grew, and you already knew he had a line waiting at the end of his tongue. “If you love that then I’m dying to see how you’ll take-”

He was cut short due to someone yelling from the floor above. You blushed as he turned around to hear the noise better. You wanted him to finish his sentences, then again, you really didn’t.

As you both waited in silences, the yell started back up, this time much clearer. It seemed that someone and someone else was having a conversation on two different floors.

“Michael!” A deep voice screamed from the floor over your head.

“He left!” Screamed back Nick’s voice from the floor you were on, but he was nowhere in sight.

“Where in the hell could he have left to?”

“Why would he tell any of us? He can do his own thing remember?”

“Don’t start that back up you disgusting child!”

“Excuse me? Would you like to say that to my face?”

Nick’s voice was calm, but still angry at the same time. The deep voice from above sounded tired and agitated. Suddenly, Nick appeared from the hall you assumed circled back to the hall you had been in. He aggressively climbed the steps to the large, white and gold marble stairs.

“Could you step any lighter?” Gabriel called to his brother. You could tell he enjoyed fueling the flame, but you weren’t too excited about it.

Nicked stopped, hand on the rail, and jerked around with one finger pointing at his younger brother. “I still owe you an ass whooping little brother, don’t push it.”

Gabriel just grinned as his brother marched upstairs. When he turned around, you were staring at him like he was a crazy man. Were they really like this all the time?

He smiled at you as if he couldn’t see how disturbed you were. He took the tied bag out of your hand and walked past you. As he did so, he whispered just loud enough you could hear it, “Stay here.”

You turned around and watched him round the corner where the mirror was. You were cleaning after kids. You might as well have been hired as a nanny as well. You just couldn’t understand the rage in these men. No, they were kids. You masked your face in a ‘really?’ look as you glanced down at the water still on the floor. Next, you’ll be making bottles and changing diapers.

You heard a snort of laughter behind you; Gabriel had entered through the other hall. The bag in his hand was gone, replaced with a mop in one hand and a broom in the other. He kept giggling until he stood in front of you. You smiled, feeling his joyousness spread into you, causing you to snicker.

“What’s got into you?” You asked him.

“Oh nothing. So, which will it be? The broom or the mop?”

“Give me the damn things,” you said, snatching both from his hand.

“Eager little princess, aren’t you?” Gabriel stepped around the water to the other side of you.

“If that’s what you want to call it. Sure.”

You placed the broom against the wall and started to mop up the water. It wasn’t long before you felt uncomfortable under Gabriel’s stare. You cleared your throat as looked up at him. He raised both hands in a defeated gesture and turned and walked off. Honestly, you didn’t want him to leave. You would have been staring at him too if you thought he wouldn’t catch you in the act. You just couldn’t handle him watching your every movement. How would you work under those beautiful eyes?

He stopped at the stairs, turned around and watched as you started mopping the water again. Again, the word ‘graceful’ screamed in his head. He waved the word away but kept his eyes on you. You were handling this all too well. You were treating his brothers and their mess like it was just another weird Sunday morning after a crazy Saturday night party. Of course, you were clueless to the depth of hell you had agreed to work to. You were blindly stepping into a fiery cage that would lock behind you, but yet there you were, just so clueless. You looked at this house like one looks at a captivating painting. Gabriel saw the house as nothing more than a trap for his older brother.

His brothers. You had only met one, so you thought. The way you looked at Luc-Nick, it hurt him. Gabriel thought that only he could look at his brother without a scroll or hated stare. Suddenly, it seemed something finally replaced that word that echoed in his head. No longer did it scream ‘graceful’ in a joyous tone. No, now it screamed ‘clueless’ in a way that made him cringe.

Finally, Gabriel turned and climbed the steps. Someone had to check on his brothers upstairs.

 

You didn’t get much done. You got the flowers that had been in the broken vases in new ones. You finally got the pile of wood thrown away. You started in the game room but hadn’t finished by the time night fell. You had hardly made a dent in the group of busted wood, shattered glass, some sort of liquid that messed oil, but you couldn’t be sure, and a broken in half T.V. screen.

By the time Nick came into the room, you were stifling a yawn. You hadn’t known he had arrived at the door, but you heard the give of the wood when he walked up behind you. You expected Gabriel but wasn’t let down by the sight of Nick.

He took the broom out of your hand and looked down at you with pity. “Times up.”

You tried to smile but instead you yawned. You brought you hand to hide your mouth. “I guess I’ll get the rest of this...?”

“You should probably come every day. It won't stay this clean.”

“Great,” you said more sarcastically than you meant it to be. “Why don’t you guys beat the crap out of each other outside. Nothing gets broken, and I’m sure the ground is softer than the floor.”

Another mischievous grin. “Who said we were fighting?”

You looked up at him, pointing into the room. “If you're not beating each other, then I suggest you start. Give a reason to all of this,” you motioned to the pile of broken junk.

With just a half smile, he left with the broom and you followed him out. When you came to the front door, he kept going to the stairs.

“Have a good night,” you said, waving him goodbye when he turned around. He waved back, and you were out the door. When the cold breeze of the night hit you, you pulled your jacket around you harder. It had been cold inside the house, but it was freezing outside. You nearly ran to the gate, trying to beat the cold air before it filled your lungs. Of course, that was impossible.

Finally, you got to the closed gate. Once you had opened it and were on the other side you cursed. You had forgotten to ask again! You would just have to do it tomorrow. Maybe write it on your hand to remember. With all your strength, you closed the massive gates. Then you turned around and frozed. You needed a cab.

You fumbled to find your phone to call a taxi services when a honk made you scream. You dropped your phone in the process, but a friendly voice called out, “You’re friends already called!”

It took your eyes some time to adjust, but when they did, you recognized the handsome cab driver from a week ago. You picked up your phone and rushed to the cab. You spoke to him through the passenger side window, “Well today sure is my lucky day.”

He smiled his beautiful smile while you climbed into the back seat. When you closed the door, you noticed how warm the car was. It felt good against your already cold cheeks. He had got the car rolling before he started talking.

“This was your first day, right?”

It made your stomach knot up that he even remembered you, let alone that he remembered that. “Yes sir, it was.”

“Was it fun?” He asked through the rearview mirror.

“Depends on your definition of fun. But yeah, it was okay. The family seems...nice.”

“I heard a hesitation.”

“Well, their nice, but not the cleanest. Let's just say, I think it’ll take me a week to finish just what I started today.”

He gave you a half laugh. You watched him for a while as he drove. His black hair was short, and his clothes fit him loosely. Weren’t cab drivers supposed to be...well, not this handsome?

He opened his mouth but closed it.

At that, you looked out the window, leaning your head on the cold glass. It seemed that it was too soon before you were outside your apartment. You groaned, having been on your feet all day, you did not want to go up the stairs. You paid the driver and did it anyways. When you were on your floor, you reached for your door knob before remembering. It was so late, would the old man even be awake? You would knock once and if he didn’t answer you would just tell him tomorrow morning.

So you turned around, knocking softly. You waited for some time, and even knocked again against yourself. You just didn’t want to disappoint the man. It made you feel good to see the light that entered his eyes when you would tell him about the house. Again, however, there was no answer. You turned around and unlocked your door. You didn’t really want to take a shower, but you had been working all day. Reluctantly, you unclothed and stepped in a quick shower. When you stepped out, you didn’t even bother with pajamas. You put your hair up in the towel and laid across your bed naked. Within minutes, you were asleep.


	3. Here We Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize that the first two chapters are super long, I'll try to cut them back some but no promises.

To describe your next few days would be like trying to tell someone how beautiful the sky looked with a bitter bite in your voice. You had come back three weeks in a row, but you swore you didn’t get anywhere. Each day another vase was broken, or maybe a window. Broken chairs or stands, even one table which you had never seen before. You had come across two sharp knives scattered on the floor, and you tried to overlook the red liquid on them. You would mop and sweep, but to no avail. You finally got enough of the sports room done to see the floor and was able to sweep. Then the next day you went in, and the window was broken in that room. Each room you cleaned you would always have to clean again. All but the music room. One day you showed up, you saw someone had replaced the window. You never had to clean that room after the first day. Though, just like the garden, it called to you. Unlike the garden, however, you could freely walk into the room without anyone asking why. You would never touch anything, but you desperately wanted to. 

On the end of your third week, you climbed out the cab and proceed to open the iron gates. You finally asked Gabriel about the gate, but he informed you that there was no other way to open them, but you could leave it cracked for when you left. You also asked him about the constant messes, and he jokingly told you that this was why he offered you double. 

You hadn’t yet met his other brothers. Gabriel and Nick never spoke of them to you directly, but you could hear their names mentioned. You were positive that one was named Michael, and the other you believed was Raphael. One of the brothers would never come downstairs, but he would always yell down the stairs at his other brothers. You assumed he was Raphael since he was always asking about Michael. You had yet to meet Michael, the oldest you concluded. You never heard him call to another brother from a floor above. Whenever the others would talk about him, they would always say he was gone. 

You were okay with just dealing with Gabriel and Nick because they were a handful as it was. Sometimes they would enter a room with you in it and try to talk to you, but it never lasted long before they were sharing words with each other. At first it got on your nerves, but soon you just relaxed into it. Every time they would start to raise their voices they would leave, handling the situation somewhere else. You appreciated that more than they would ever know. You had heard enough fighting back at home. 

The best part of the day, besides the time Gabriel would grace you with his presences, was in the morning and late in the afternoon. 

In the morning, you would still bring the old man coffee. Nick no longer showed at the coffee shop since the day you started working, but you got enough of him at the house. The old man would talk to you for a little while before you had to rush along. You finally got to tell him about your first day, and he seemed amused at their mess. Every morning you would tell him about the boys, and he would simply listen. It was different than the first week, were you both shared words. Now he only listened to you with a smug smile. Every time the name ‘Gabriel’ past through your mouth his eyes would dart down softly but come back to yours. Something about the name rubbed the man wrong, so you refrained from saying it as much as you could. 

In the afternoon, you would talk to your taxi driver, who had now become your regular pick up and drop off. The black haired beauty had arranged it to where he would pick you up same time every morning, and get you same time every afternoon. You would tell him about your day and the more you spoke, the more you wanted to tell him. He was just like the old man; he would listen with little to say, but he always seemed happy to hear from you. There wasn’t much to talk about in the morning, but in the afternoon he demanded you retell your whole day. When it came to this morning, though, he said something that stuck out to you. It was the first time someone had said it to you since you entered New York. 

“Be safe,” he said as you got out the cab. 

Now you were walking up the steps to the oak doors. You let yourself in and thought nothing of the split wood and shattered glass. You simply started to pick it up like every other day before. There was no need to warn the boys you were here; they would know. You started a pile off to the side before one of the brothers showed up. You still hadn’t been told where the cleaning supplies were, so you were forced to ask the boys every time you needed something. 

One by one, the pile of wood grew. You didn’t bother with the glass; you would wait until you had a bag. That was just in front of the door, however. You glanced to your right where the stairs where and noticed nothing out the ordinary. You were always shocked how the setting room seemed untouched but normally there was something broke around it. To your left, you didn't see anything at first, but you felt uncomfortable looking that way. Like your mind noticed something but it hadn’t yet told you. You walked further into that direction, into the empty place. You started to look around when you noticed it. There, right above one of the replaced vases. It was a painting of Moses, you believed it was called The Finding of Moses. It had the Pharaoh’s wife and her servants looking over a baby in a basket. Moses sister was hidden, watching them. It was hanging crooked on the wall, and it was bothering you. 

The echo of footsteps coming down the stairs drew your attention away from the painting. You didn’t even realize the smile that crossed your face at the sight of the whiskey eyed man. You tried to ignore your attractions. 

“This painting is crooked,” you said loud enough that he could hear it, of course, your voice would have echoed anyways. 

He waited until he was beside you, his hand in his pocket. He glanced up at the painting, only to reply with, “I can’t reach that.”

You rolled your eyes and started back to the pile of wood you had made, your smile never leaving. “If you're going to break all this wooden furniture, why don’t you use it as firewood? 

“Because that’s stupid, it has to be cold first.”

You motioned at the jacket you had worn every day. He smiled a huge grin and you just couldn’t stop the butterflies, so you looked away. Between him and Nick, you had a hard time focusing on your work. Of course, your attraction to Gabriel was more profound, but Nick was just as cute. 

“I guess I’ll go fetch you a bag,” Gabriel said.

When you turned back to him, he was gone. How had he...? You just shook it off. You went ahead and started to pick up some of the vase pieces. You had got used to seeing the beauty of this home shattered, but every broken vase seemed to hurt you. They were so beautiful and the flowers they held even more so. What was the purpose of all this chaos anyways?

Footsteps came up behind you. “God, that was fast,” 

You spun around, ready to grab a bag out of Gabriel’s hand. Instead, you froze. The man that had been walking to you froze just as fast as you did. He wore an overly priced suit, and one hand was placed inside the pocket of his black pants. He raised an eyebrow, and his eyes darted from yours to something behind you. You assume it was Gabriel, but even then you could not comprehend the nicely dressed man’s words. 

“It seems you failed to inform me that our guest was coming over, Gabriel.”

“Figured if I told you, you would hide in your room again.” 

Gabriel’s voice behind you seemed to silence the man. He looked as if he had more to say, but failed to, or maybe didn’t want to put it into words. Something about the man seemed familiar, as if you had met him before. His deep brown eyes and dull, cold tone seemed to bring up a memory that you couldn’t yet reach. Before you could even try to grab for it, Nick appeared. When he did, everything in the room shifted. 

“Oh look, the all mighty Raph decided to bless us with his appearance.”

The dark skinned man turned and stared daggers at Nick. 

Raph, as in Raphael? Was Nick serious? Was this the brother that had been screaming from the floor above? The same brother that had been here, in this house, and yet you had failed to see? You didn’t even try to find the resemblance because it would not be there. Not physically, at least. 

Again, Raph seemed to bite back his words. He turned back your way, glaring down at you. An assumed glint seemed to pass through those brown orbs. Not a good assumed look, but it brought that memory all the way to the front of your mind. 

“You’re the man that I let have the taxi. The one that had a business meeting.”

He didn’t seem to particularly like the fact that you remembered him, but he did respond. “Yes.”

“Business? Really? That’s pathetic.” inserted Nick. 

Gabriel came up behind you, placing a hand on the small of your back. It was meant to be comforting, but it did much more. The warmth in his hand seemed to spread through you. You tried not to relax into the touch, so you kept your eyes on the brothers. At Nick’s first words, a thickness settled in the room. When you spoke it seemed to lighten, but once again, Nick had spoken. 

You again did not want to get involved, so you finally turned, took the bag from Gabriel, and started placing the pieces of wood and glass in the bag. Your back was turned, but that did not stop the brothers. Or, who you assume was Nick and Gabriel’s brother. 

“Quit you mule. I start to wonder if you’ll ever run out of such childish things to say.” Raphael said to his older brother. Though, at this point, it seemed as if Raphael was the eldest out of the three. 

“You must be mistaking me for a mirror, brother. If I were you, I would remember your place. And if not your place, at least remember we have a quest.”Nick replied with his all too comfy tone. 

“I am now aware that we have one,” you knew Raphael must have looked to Gabriel, or else Gabriel felt threatened much like you because he came over to your side.

The youngest brother tried to talk to you in a low voice, but it was hard to hear over Nick’s reply that seemed to boom in the silences of the room. 

“Isn’t is sad, that she comes and cleans and has been doing so for almost a good month now, and you keep yourself locked away. What kind of host is that?”

“I am not her host, and I have not touched anything on this level of the house but the floor under my feet. You are a fool to try to make me feel guilty.”

“Now I’m a fool? I would watch your choice of words.”

“Why would I be so mindful for such a disgrace.”

The more they spoke, the more uncomfortable you got. You were rushing to get the wood and glass in the bag as fast as possible. It was getting hard to breath. You had dealt with Nick and Gabriel, but they never truly shared words like this in front of you. Also, even when the two were arguing what they thought was secretly, the room never felt this stiff. It was as if the air would no longer enter your lungs. Your hands had started to shake slightly, but you were still rushing. 

Gabriel failed to make words, so he only stared at you. He was aware of your discomfort and your heavy breathing. It wasn’t loud, but he was focussing hard on you. Anything but his brothers who he was sure would break into a fight sooner or later. Their fights never broken anything more than each other, but right now their words were breaking something none of them could physically see. You.

Gabriel reached and grabbed your forearm, pulling you up to stand. You looked at him, worried. He smiled a reassuring smile and led you to the empty room, then the hall, and then outback. 

Once the breeze filled your lungs it seemed like a wave of anxiety had finally passed over you. It was such a relief that you sighed heavily. 

“Sorry about that. Raph normally doesn’t come down when you're here, so they usually don’t see each other.” The way Gabriel said it was so matter of fact like that it reminded you that he was here when these fights broke out. He was in some of them you were sure. 

“It’s okay,” you said, finally able to breath regularly. “How come he wouldn’t know I was here, I’m here every Monday to Friday?”

Gabriel tried to smile, but you saw too clearly that it was much harder now than it had been earlier. He seemed to think out his answer for some time, before turning to the tip of the trees. 

“He thinks you’re going to quit any time now, so I have to keep reminding him when you're coming. I figured after a few weeks, it was time for him to met you. So I might have forgotten to update him. It seems you’ve already met him before, anyhow.” 

“Yea, I think it was the day I came to ask for the job. I was trying to get a taxi, and we bumped into each other. Can I ask, not in a rude way, but how are you guys-”

“Related?” Gabriel cut in, a more honest smile on his face now that the subject had slightly changed. “It’s more of an adoption kind of thing. This guy comes it, gets four boys, brings them home. Or, something in that range.”

You chuckled, “That doesn’t sound near as innocent as I’m sure you meant it.”

He cut his eyes at you in a playful manner before poking your side rather hard. “Yea, because you would know all about innocence, wouldn’t you?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. I can assure you that none of you are innocent,” you jokily stated as you motioned to the house. 

A pity look came across his face, and he grabbed at his heart as if it hurt. You tried to act like you didn’t hear something breaking inside the house, and so did he. You both sort of stood there, unsure how to continue but knowing you couldn’t go back inside yet. A cold breeze ran across the porch and up your spine, causing a violent shiver. 

You pulled your jacket around you closer and proceed to ask, “How do the upstairs room look?”

You had come across this subject, but with Nick. You were in one of the rooms in the large, long hall close to the back of the house when he had sneaked up. You both talked as you cleaned. Finally, you started to wonder about the upstairs, and you had asked Nick about it. 

He had raised an eyebrow and said, “What of it?”

“Will I ever have to clean upstairs? I understood this level of the house is in a constant state of neglect, but what about up there?”

“Trust me when I tell you those rooms are better left untouched.”

That had been that, nothing more. You hadn’t talked much about it, but not being able to see those top floors made you want to even more. You had seen this part of the house to many times, but it’s beauty never seemed to waver. What would the other halls and rooms above look like? Just as gorgeous, you were sure. 

Gabriel stared up at the top of the house, not having to shield his eyes due to the over amount of clouds casting a dark shadow over the land. “Let's just say, some things are better left untouched.”

Words much like his brother's. Words that pushed you closer to sneaking a look up.

A smile broke loose again, and he turned and walked to the tip of the trees. At the edge of the black marble porch, you followed him until you were right beside him. This time, the shadow’s cast a look over the garden that pulled at your heart. You couldn’t explain it with words, but it was just breathtaking how the clouds did nothing to damper the trees elegant beauty. With that, you turned your head to the right to see a certain little flower. The purple shade with a green body seemed to dance again in the breeze. Always happy to see you, and never still. 

You must have been smiling to your ears, but Gabriel didn’t comment as he normally did. He just looked at the flower with you.

Gabriel noticed the purple flower, never seeing it there before. Though it was new to him, he knew why it was there. Suddenly, he was no longer looking at the small, delicate flower. He was now looking at another flower, one much more delicate and just as valuable. He looked at you no different than his brothers did when you weren't looking, but did they also feel this feeling he felt?

Since that day so many days ago, his brain screamed ‘clueless’ and ‘danger’, yet he could never find out why. He even spoke to their father, very indirectly but still. He failed to answer, but said to keep every word that came across in mind. So, Gabriel wrote it down, knowing he would never remember. 

Graceful.

Clueless.

Danger.

Sounded like he was describing his brothers on some level. 

 

The day ended like all the others though it didn’t start off that way. You walked out the door and down the path. Through the gates that you closed with much more ease than when you started the job. The taxi awaited you where it did every night. You climbed in the back and said a falsely happy hello. He picked up on it.

“Is everything okay?”

In all aspects, yes, everything was fine. You were just tired and worn out after a long days work. After you and Gabriel had spoken for some time, you thought it best to get back to work. You stayed in the back, cleaning up the sports room again and one room that was strictly books. The only problem being that Raph and Nick had still been going at it when you re-entered the home, but they were upstairs by then. 

“Just tired is all.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Well, I met another brother. He doesn’t look as fun and go happy as the other two do. I still haven’t met the oldest. Plus, I’m pretty sure I almost saw a fight break out.”

“Between who?” He asked, a little too much authority in his voice. 

“The second oldest and the third oldest. So, Nick and the one they call Raph. The one I met today, “

The driver still hadn’t started the car, so you got a bit worried. 

“Of course they did, they always do.” He mumbled under his breath. You had told him about the brothers bickering before, why did this time he seemed upset. 

“Um...Is everything okay?” You asked, leaning forward a little. You hide the worry out of your voice very well. 

“Yea, sorry.” He started the car.

“It’s fine. I mean, their fighting isn’t really that bad. Mainly they just say harsh things to each other in calm, weird ways. None of them has ever thrown a punch, but they always come out of it red in the faces. I just don’t understand how, if they're not fighting that much, why everything is broken.”

“Have you ever thought that maybe they break things so you have something to clean up?” The driver said. 

No, that was childish and stupid. Who had money for that kind of kid play? 

They did.

You swallowed harder than you should have. “You don’t think they’re really doing that do you?”

He was quiet for a long time. Finally, you realized he wasn’t going to answer you. 

The driver looked in the back of his cab through the rearview mirror. You were just so peaceful, no matter the stories that you came back and told him. He knew what happened in that house better than anyone, but when you told the stories it was as if you painted a picture that he never saw. You talked about the brothers in a light he never thought to see them in. You spoke of the house like it was gold and the garden, oh how you loved that garden. Today, however, you didn’t seem up to the talk, something knew. He was sure you didn’t even realize it, but he was positive that when Nick and Raph started a family feud with you there that it ruined your mood and spirit. 

He knew your address like the back of his hand, but he took the road slower today. Allowed more cars to pass him and got more red lights than normal. He hated driving, but it was his best shot at talking to you freely. 

Finally, you arrived at your apartment and paid the driver. You climbed the steps and opened your door. You had the weekend off, so you didn’t bother with a shower. You couldn’t feel the heat on in the room; something inside you was cold. You didn’t notice it though, you just assumed the room’s A/C had been turned on by mistake. You didn’t bother turned the heat up; you grabbed a thick blanket and pulled it around you, only to climb under the covers of your bed. 

Today hadn’t been the best day on the job, but you had tomorrow for yourself. You promised yourself that you would make tomorrow better. With that secret little swear in the back of your mind, you managed a little smile and fell asleep.


	4. Then There Were Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (f/ic) - Favorite ice cream

Michael marched up the marble stairs, his footsteps echoing off the walls like thunder. His anger seemed to surround him in a storm of fire. Gabriel had tried to greet the oldest brother when he had finally showed, but even though Gabriel was on the other side of the hall, he could feel the heat. Michael was a thunderstorm that was raining fire and everyone in his sight was a target. 

Once Michael was on his level, the second story, he looked up to the fourth story. From the second floor all the way to the fifth floor, there was an opening on each level that allowed Michael to see all the way to the hanging chandelier that hung down to the fourth story. He was looking at the fourth story, not because of the bright chandelier that illuminated each level expected the first, but because that level belonged to the one and only Raphael. 

He should have been glaring at the second story as well, but he expected these things from the second oldest. Each floor belonged to one brother. The story at which Michael was one was his. His room and personal things and whatever else he wanted was on this floor. The second oldest got the third floor, the third the fourth, and finally, the youngest got the top. 

With a rough edge, the oldest brother’s voice boomed across every wall. The marble did wonders sending his voice up through the house. “Raphael, Lucifer, I demand you come down here now.”

“Oh great, you finally returned.” Lucifer’s voice came booming back down to Michael, his sarcastic but teasing. 

Michael knew the voice came from above, but he turned around to see his brother. The blue eyed gentlemen crossed his arms and gave a honest, mischievous smile. It was in a blink of an eye and Raphael was standing beside Lucifer. Michael was not pleased, not at how Lucifer took this as a joke or how Raphael seemed almost bored with the situation. They both knew why he was so mad, and he would hate to take his anger out on them physical. 

“Tell me, brothers, how did it feel to make a scene in front of our guest?” 

Out the corner of his eye, Lucifer saw the youngest brother stop at the top of the staircase. Michael’s back was turned to Gabriel, but Lucifer could see him, see the worry he masked with stone hard face. No one knew Gabriel better than Lucifer, and seeing how his youngest brother’s mind had been drowning in images of that poor maid girl, Lucifer was sure he knew Gabriel better then Gabriel knew Gabriel. 

Micheal must have heard the snarky comment Lucifer said mentally because he jerked to stare the second oldest straight in the eye. 

“Gabriel is not a part of this, now answer me.”

Raphael spoke first, “If Lucifer here could learn to speak with more manners perhaps there wouldn’t have been a scene.”

Lucifer angrily interjected, “Of course, why didn’t I think of that? Maybe if I cut my dick off I’ll be just like my little brother. What do you say you whiney bitch?”

“Lucifer! Raphael! This is not what I asked you. The humans don’t have words to describe how childish and selfish you two were today.” Michael almost screamed his words but even if he had whispered them they would have bounced off the walls. He could feel the glare of Gabriel’s eyes on his back and knew that the younger brother didn’t want this.

“I’m not a child, Michael,” Gabriel stated, reading the thoughts passing through his brother's brain waves. A worried knot was growing in his stomach, but fire was brewing as well. He was not a child; he was mere seconds younger than his brothers but yet they treated him as if millenniums separated him from them. He would admit to not liking the yelling and arguing all day every day, but they should not exclude him as if he couldn’t handle it. 

Michael didn’t even turn to the youngest. His green eyes were locked on Lucifer’s blue ones. 

“What’s wrong Michael? Did we scare Gabriel’s princess?” Lucifer asked the oldest, but he could feel the eyes burning holes in his head from over at the staircase. 

“Dad gave you this one chance, Lucifer.” Michael pointed a long, thin finger in the blonds direction. “We all know her story, so show some respect for it. Unless you don’t mind me kicking your ass back down where you belong.” 

“Excuse me? Is that a threat?” Lucifer stepped closer to the black haired man, his arms falling off his chest. 

Gabriel’s and Raphael’s eyes made contact and at that moment they both knew. Lucifer and Michael under the same roof was never a good idea. Not in Heaven, not in Hell, and certainly not here. 

The blue eyes of the sinner and the green eyes of the saint seemed to hold each other for what a human would see as a minute or two. To them, it was not even a second in between before Lucifer’s fist went up. Gabriel nor Raphael moved as Michael took the fist to the cheek but slammed his brother into the wall. Each grunt and punch echoed. Even if Gabriel was to head downstairs the faint sound would still crawl under his skin. 

That was just what Gabriel did, however. He walked downstairs slowly and out the front door. Around the corners of the house and to the garden. The moon shone a glow that he knew their guest would love, but he didn’t see anything special. He never did anymore. Nothing on this earth seemed new to him anymore because it wasn’t. He had watched her eyes dance across every leaf and each tree. He wished he could feel what she felt when she gazed out at the back yard. 

Gabriel kept moving forward until he was hidden underneath the trees and away from even the moon. 

 

Your weekend was nothing special, just some time to yourself. When Monday came, you got the coffees, got in your regular cab, and got dropped off. Everything seemed so normal and calm. The clouds softly danced across the clearest sky in weeks. The soft blue went well with the bright white. The sun wasn’t at it’s most gleaming due to some thick clouds, but it still highlighted every tree, flower, and even the grass. The breeze that crossed your face smelled so pure and sweet you wanted to taste it. The weather was still chilly, but it was calming. You couldn’t help but smile at how great today left, so you took the walk to the door slowly. 

You ran your hand across the silk petal of the yellow flower next to the door before opening it up. However, before the door was even an inch open, a hand shot from behind you and slammed the door closed. You turned around to Gabriel’s award winning smile. You couldn’t help a soft pink color come to your cheeks as you realized the way you were pinned to the door. Your heart kicked up slightly, but you hide all the shock with a smile. 

“Gabriel! I hope your morning is as good as the weather.”

His eyes narrowed as his smile took up his face. “Well, it did just get better, thank you for asking.”

You moved away from the door, and he turned to follow your movements. He moved a strain of light brown hair out from his golden eyes. You bit the inside of your cheek. “So, am I not allowed inside today? What did you boys do this time?”

He chuckled, but it wasn’t real. It gave you the impression that you were right to assume the house looked horrible inside. Of course it did, it always did. That’s why you were here. 

“Michael-you know, the oldest? He wants to meet you today, but he doesn’t want you inside the house.” Gabriel all but rushed out. He said it so fast it took you a moment to get the whole understanding of his words. 

The oldest finally wanted to come home and meet you. It was a good thing, but your stomach knotted. Why didn’t he want you inside? 

“Oh goodness, you burned the inside of the house down. You roasted the inside of that house didn’t you?” You joked. 

He laughed with his whole body, leaning sideways and then coming back up to say, “Not yet, no.”

“Well, if that’s the case then what am I supposed to do? Clean the yard?” 

Gabriel turned to look at the front yard as if he was examining it. You knew that the yard was perfect and didn’t need anything done, and so did he. He brought a hand up to his chin and began to stroke a bread that wasn’t there. You giggled at his silliness and leaned all your weight on one side as you watched him. No way he could see the whole yard the way it curved, plus the trees. He stared at the right and turned his head slowly to the left, mumbling words under his breath. 

“I don’t see anything wrong with the front side of the house, so lets try the back.” 

You smiled and started to turn, but he took your hand and pulled you down the stairs. The warmth of his hands was almost a shock to your cold ones. His were not much bigger than yours, but covered yours and held on tightly as he started to sprint a little. By the time he had you at the first corner of the house you were both running. A laugh bubbled in your stomach, so you let it out as you turned the corner to the side of the house. He released your hand and started running in front of you. You gasped as if you were offended he would try to challenge you, so you speed up. By the time you two were at the other corner you were well out of breath from trying so hard to catch up to Gabriel, but he seemed just fine. 

You attempted to give him a smile while inhaling deeply. He smiled and took your hand once again. This time was slower; you could feel his fingers run over your palm. He smiled down at you, and it was like you were looking at a star. His hair was tucked behind his ears to show his hypnotizing eyes. Gabriel cocked his head a little to the side and started tugging you along once again. 

You had had crushes before, but Gabriel was captivating. Sure, you could stare at a cute guy for ages, but he was different. You didn’t want to just stare at him; you wanted to search him. You wanted to learn his every curve and wrinkle. You wished to feel those curves under the palm of your hand. You were so sure that it would be just as smooth as his hand. If the rest of him was as beautiful as his face, you wouldn’t be able to handle yourself. He was just so handsome. 

Gabriel blushed a dark red, so he kept his face turned from you. Your thoughts were always interesting to listen to, but today they weren’t mere ideas but images. He had figured at some point your crush on him would escalate to these kind of thoughts, and he had honestly expected it sooner. Now that you were actually thinking about touching him he couldn’t stop from turning a different shade of red. Your thoughts weren't even sexual; you just wanted to feel his arms or his stomach. Run your hand across his back or wrap them around his waist. Yet, just that seemed to spark other thoughts in his mind. 

Gabriel tugged you to the tree line where you stood on the stone path. The opening was right in front of you, like a mouth ready to swallow. It was even prettier up close. The smell of the different types of trees and flowers drowned your lungs in such a sweet scent you almost made a rather unnecessary noise. 

Gabriel turned away to the porch. 

You glanced to your right, and there it was. The purple flower that was dancing in an imaginary breeze. You smiled and turned back to Gabriel, who was now focused on you. You hadn’t realized you were still gripping his hand until he pulled away. 

He raised a hand and gestured to the garden. “You want to take a walk while we wait.”

“I would love to.”

He gave you his elbow and raised his eyebrow. He didn’t have to say a word; you wrapped your small arm around his much stronger one. You were shocked your face wasn’t an entirely different color. 

As you two walked, you asked, “Why did Michael want me to wait outside?”

Gabriel seemed reluctant to answer at first. His eyes darting everywhere but yours. 

The trees towered over the both of you. They hide you two in a kingdom of shadows that made the air even cooler. The smell was even stronger walking through the garden. Sap and oak, pine and ponderosa pine, which smelt just like vanilla. Your body relaxed with the trees and flowers as they swayed side to side in the breeze you couldn’t feel due to how thick the garden was. 

Normally, you would have basked in the glory of the backyard, especially now that you were in it, but you couldn’t. The arm that you were holding on to was too much of a distraction. How was he so warm in such cold weather? It made you want to cuddle with him closer, but you kept your distances. You were a maid, just a maid. You did not need to get involved, and you knew it. 

“Raph and Lu-Nick, um, they’re just wrapping things up.” He didn’t sound satisfied with his words, but they were all he said. 

You didn’t want to probe, so you did it just a tad. “Were they fighting again?”

He didn’t think about it this time, but his arm muscles did tense up. “All three of them, actually. Fighting since last night. Their like dogs over a bone.”

That tone was nothing like his others. When he spoke to Nick, even in one of their soft arguments, his voice never held that bite. It was like a snarl that he was trying to hide with words. A passionate hate laced in a thin layer of love. It was nothing like a joyful sound that would escape his lips and cause butterflies in your stomach. 

You decided to drop the subject and move on to something else. 

“There’s this ice cream shop across my apartment. Little pricey but they have all the flavors.”

He laughed a little at the random outburst, but it was the first thing to come to mind. “What’s your favorite kind of ice cream?”

“(f/ic), but I’ve only got to go once. That was the day Nick bought mine,” you told him. 

He stopped in the middle of the path, “Wait, are you telling me he left to buy you ice cream?”

He seemed astonished, but you knew it was over reacting on purposes. “Yes, the day before I started working I think. He said he was there just for me!” You exclaimed you honest reply in an over dramatic, flattered tone. You grabbed for your heart and faked a dreamy look at Gabriel before busting into laughter with him. 

He had to pull his arm away from you, which was unfortunate. “Please tell me you're not serious.” He breathed, recovering from the laughter. 

“Only slightly. He never openly said it, but he did suggest it.”

“That’s honestly a shock.”

“Why?”

“Well, you see Nick doesn’t care for anyone. I mean, there’s our dad and us but no one beyond that. So, it’s just kind of strange he went and bought you something. Hell, he isn’t even supposed to leave.” Gabriel grinned at his last sentence, understanding a pun you would not.

You had both started walking once again, now side by side. You were able to gaze at the garden with more thought. The path you were on seemed to split off into other small paths. Down one, you could see an area marked only for flowers. You tugged Gabriel that way without even knowing it. 

The flowers were beautiful. A birdbath stood in the middle, half full of water with a large, male bluebird dancing in it. One vine plant that blossomed a soft white and purple color had wrapped itself around the base. The area was bigger than you had thought but just as breathtaking as the rest of the back yard. 

“If Nick can’t leave, then how did he get to the coffee shop?”

“What coffee shop? Are you telling me he bought you coffee too?” 

“No, no. He worked there. I’ve only seen him two or three times. He sold me the coffee.”

Gabriel was silent, so you looked up at him. He had his brow pulled together in a questioning look. “Nick...doesn’t work anywhere,” he said more to himself. He seemed to be overthinking it. 

You were sure that you had mentioned Nick working there before, but it seemed it hadn’t clicked with the golden-eyed man until now. You waited for Gabriel to snap out of his trance and when he did he dropped the subject altogether and kept walking. 

 

After a long walk, you were finally back in front of the porch. 

On that black, marble-looking porch stood your taxi driver. 

“What in the world is he doing here?” You whispered to Gabriel as you exited the garden to climb the stairs. 

“You’ve met him?”

“Yea, that’s my cab driver. The one I told you was picking me up and taking me home every day.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Gabriel said, and you were tooken back. He turned to the taxi driver once you two were at the top of the stairs. “This whole time we’ve been at each others throats, you’ve been driving a car! Then you showed up last night and started ripping out throats just as bad, if not worse. Let me repeat myself because I don’t believe it. You’ve been driving a car?!”

You stepped back from Gabriel; his face was slightly heated but also curious. 

“I was doing what I was told, Gabriel. I would like to introduce myself properly now. And, for your curiosity, no. Cars are slow, smelly things, and we should have never allowed man to create them.” The cab driver spoke to Gabriel on a first name bases. 

Then, he turned to you. His greens eyes were shining just like the leaves behind him. His hair was as black as the porch under your feet. He was taller than you, thin, and strong. For every ounce of intimidation, he counteracted it with a soft, friendly face and a gentle smile. How was a man this pure in beauty?

“Hello, (y/n), my name is Michael. It’s nice to finally, truly, meet you.”

You were doing it again, standing with your mouth wide open. “But...”

“Yes, I know. The cab driver and all that. Come inside.” He motioned you to follow him as he walked inside. You were still awestruck. 

It wasn’t until Gabriel placed his hand on your shoulder that you snapped out of it and looked Gabriel in the eye. “Were you guys watching me? Have you guys been...watching me?” You whispered in a worried but shocked tone. 

Gabriel’s eyes widen just enough for you understand. He opened his mouth, but Michael beat him to it. “Following is a harsh word. You just happened to bump into us a few times. I, however, did go out of my way to see you.”

Gabriel tried not to glare at his older brother. He was lying, trying to take all the blame. Gabriel and his other brothers were not children, and Gabriel knew Raph nor Luci would like to hear Michael attempting to be a big hero again. 

“Why?” You asked, turning to thoroughly to face Michael. Gabriel’s hand dropped from your shoulder. 

“My brothers,” he laughed as if that explained it all, but he did keep going. “They're not the most tamed creatures; that’s for sure. I wanted to hear your honest opinion of them.”

You were cleaning a house for four big, violent, stalkerish kids. After everything you had witnessed in the past month, you had finally come to that conclusion. 

“So, tell me if I’m wrong, but there are only four of you, right? I’ve met everyone, right? Raphael, Gabriel, you and Nick.” You had to make sure no other strangers were going to show up and proclaim to live in this house. 

“Yes, Nick. Who is that? You describe him as Lucifer but yet you call him Nick?” Michael asked in response.

“That’s what he wants her to call him,” Gabriel interjected. 

You were so confused. “Is Nick not his real name?”

“No, not exactly. You can call him that if you would like. It seems he wants you to anyways.” Michael answered and turn to go back into the house. 

You mumbled under your breath and stared at Gabriel as he walked you inside. The rooms seemed relatively clean compared to every other time. Of course, this was just the back of the house. 

“Michael?” It was Raphael’s voice from the front of the house. 

Michael lead you to the front, and Gabriel followed suit. When you passed the mirror, you bowed your head to the side like you always did. 

Gabriel noticed your action. As he past the mirror he looked into it deeply. What was the problem with the mirror?

In the opening at the bottom of the staircase, on the other side of the hall, stood a handsome Nick and ravishing Raphael. Your vocabulary was too weak to describe these men, and you realized you had them all in one room. You felt like that man who owned Playboy. 

Nick chuckled at something as you and the two brothers drew closer. Raph's hands were in his pocket. He wore a suit once again; this one had a white undershirt and a dark red tie. Nick wore worn jeans and a green shirt. Two colored chess pieces in the same kingdom. 

You swallowed hard and looked at the front door, almost wanting to run out of it. The tension was thin, but it was still there. You noticed that with just two brothers that the tension was bad, but with four it was unmistakable. 

“(y/n), you're looking lovely today,” Nick said to you. His electric blue eyes were fixed on yours, so you darted your eyes to the floor. Your cheeks heated just slightly. 

“Raph, uh-Nick, Gabriel and me,” Michael said, turning back to you. “I would like to go ahead and tell you how sorry I am for my brothers ill display.”

“Oh, it’s fine. Having brothers can’t be easy.”

“‘Ill display?’” Nick repeated. “Because your displays are so lovely. Right, Mikey?”

“Shut it, Lucifer.” Michael whispered softly to his younger brother. 

You could feel it, the tension. All four of them in one room was not good, and you couldn’t handle it. The air was thickening, and no one moved. Their eyes never darted away from each other. Gabriel’s presence behind you did nothing to soothe you this time. Nick had Michael’s eyes, and Raphael seemed to be looking above you at Gabriel. 

Gabriel could hear your internal scream and that word came up again. ‘Danger'.

Then, just like that, Lucifer went after Michael and you went out the door. Gabriel couldn’t make sense of the sudden scene that broke out in front of him. All he knew is that you had went out the door and your cab driver was on the floor.


	5. What's Yours Is Mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the wait. There is no excuse to why I kept yall waiting this long. I hope you enjoy tho. I don't think this chapter is as wonderful as my others, but not everything can be prefect.

You had called a cab and left as soon as possible.

You got in your apartment and threw your coat on the table. Half the day was gone, so you collapsed on the couch.

You had tried to analyze the day. You tried to understand the brothers. You even tried to stop trying to figure it out. All you could collect from today’s- and other days -events was that the boys hated each other. They could not like each other if they tried. You were sure that having siblings was a difficult task and sometimes it might get violent. These men, however, never said one nice word and meant it. The only talk they did that was near sweet was to you, and only Gabriel and Nick really spoke to you.

Well, Michael had been talking to you, but that didn’t count.

You still didn’t understand it. Why in God’s name would the oldest brother of the guy you had a crush on go so far to watch you? Why would he go so far just to hear your honest opinion of his brothers? If he wanted honesty, you had no problem giving it to him as long as he didn’t fire you.

Your honest opinion is that they were crazy but sweet. Strong and violent, but intelligent and gentle. They each had different personalities, and maybe that was what had them butting heads. Maybe it was the fact none of them could shut their mouths long enough to think about what they were saying. Also, as much as you hated to say it, Nick was the worst. Cute, but had a big mouth. You weren’t sure about Michael, but you assumed him being the oldest meant he tried to keep the peace. After all, it was Nick who attacked and not Michael.

Nick, a fake name. Or maybe even a nickname. Not his real name. You thought about it, when Michael had turned to Nick, he whispered to him but it didn’t sound like he called him anything near the name Nick. Gabriel liked to call him Luci, you were told to call him Nick. LuciNick? NickLuci?

_‘Dear God, what have I gotten myself into?’_

\--  
 **Four brothers. A fallen; a runaway; a hero; and a mastermind.**  
\--

You rolled around on your couch, trying to get comfortable. You grabbed a pillow and tucked it under your head. You opened your laptop that was on the floor and started to play some music, trying to drown the noise of people outside. You closed your eyes, took a deep breath to relax, released it.

The hum of the music road over your skin, calming you. The rattling of the heater started, but it soon faded with the noise as well. The room was still and warm. You pulled your knees to your chest and laid your head back.

Home life had never been this peaceful for you, and you weren’t sure how to handle it. What does one do with so much time? So much space? Even if you knew what to do, you wouldn’t move. The dense air back at that house had grabbed your energy and ripped it away. All you wanted to do was sleep, forever.

So you tried to do just that.

 

Gabriel looked up at his reflection. The mirror showed him a broken nose and a swollen cheek. He had bit the inside of his cheek and his knuckles were busted, but he still smiled. His brothers looked worse, but only because they had a go at each other before he jumped it. He didn’t want to fight, he hated fighting, but he did. He needed them to listen. Of course, the match didn’t last long once he joined it. Not because he was kicking their asses, but because Michael hated fighting Gabriel or Raphael. Lucifer, well, who didn’t like throwing him a few well-deserved fist here and there?

Gabriel turned the knob on the sink, the clear water running over his sore hands. He cupped his hands and splashed the water on his face. He knew he could get rid of the mess with just a snap, but something about doing it manually helped him deal with it.

\--  
 **What does the Hero do when the Fallen is gone?**  
\--

Michael had listened when Gabriel began to scream, the older brother had already known. Gabriel didn’t understand why he had defended the young women, that was supposed to be Lucifer’s job. Michael had nodded his head in false understanding, but the blonde sinner didn’t like what he was hearing.

Gabriel marveled at himself in the mirror. This vessel, though old, had been his favorite. He remembered when he had first acquired it, right at the beginning of the Renaissance age. He ran his stubby fingers through his hair and met his own eyes in the reflection. The man he saw in the mirror, in those eyes, wasn’t the man he felt he was. The man in the mirror looked beautiful, strong, and overall humble.

The man inside felt hideous, weak, and arrogant.

\--  
 **He turns his back on his people.**  
\--

Gabriel fixed his broken nose with a snap but let his knuckles and cheek throb. He turned and walked into his room. The walls were lined with that same gold, the same white and gray marble boxing him in. Three windows, two or three times his size, faced the back yard. The moon lit his room in a depressing but magnificent glow. A bed was to his right, but what for he had no idea. The room had all the typical things someone should have in their bedroom. A bed, for starters; a dresser, mirror, lights, a rug for some reason. He enjoyed these things, but why did he need them?

He rubbed his sore knuckles against his jean thigh as he walked to one of the windows. The garden was still like the earth was holding its breath until (y/n) came again. He grinned at the sight of that stupid purple flower. ‘Her flower’ she called it.

At the sight of the small, out of place blossom, guilt settled in his stomach. He knew what he had to do, and he couldn’t wait till tomorrow, that was if she even returned. He had to make up for the things that had happened today.

With a shaky breath, the youngest closed his eyes only to open them again. This time, however, he was staring at cool iron gates and not the garden. He motioned his hand for the gate to open, motioned it to close behind him, and disappeared.

 

You had woke up just as the sun was setting and had been watching Netflix ever since. The noise outside had quieted down some. The heater had caused a comfy, warm atmosphere. You were curled up on your couch, trying to lose yourself in the moving pictures.

Then, of course, someone knocks on your door.

You groan softly, not wanting to move. You body is warm and the couch has fitted your form. Reluctantly, you get up anyways. Pause the show you had been binge watching, and matched to the door. Who would come see you at this time? Perhaps the man across the hall, but you doubted he was awake at this hour.

Finally, you swung the door open to be meet with golden brown eyes and matching hair. Gabriel’s smile split his face in half and made his eyes sparkle. He bore his white teeth and had his hands by his side. You were starstruck for a moment, trying to figure out what to say or do. You were positive your mouth was open, and you were giving a rather stupid look.

He spoke first, realizing he had to. “Hey.”

\--  
 **What does the Mastermind do when the Hero is gone?**  
\--

You blinked, his voice breaking through your shock. “Hey.”

\--  
 **He heartlessly moves forward.**  
\--

His grin was breathtaking. Something about him being here caused your stomach to twist in a good way. You looked him over; he was wearing what he had earlier. He seemed unharmed, for the most part, so you assumed everything had calm down at his place. Or you at least hoped.

“I know it’s late, and you possibly don’t want to see me but before you deny me, I just want to say something.” He paused as if to see if you would slam the door before he even finished. Truth was; you were excited to see him. You didn’t want to slam the door you wanted him to come inside. For some reason, you just couldn’t put the words together to invite him in. When he realized you were going to hear him out, his body relaxed and his grin turned apologetic. His eyes softened, and so did his voice.

“I’m sorry for how my brothers- and I guess myself -acted earlier today.” He said in a joking manner.

Even if he pretended to roll his eyes and sounded playfully reluctant to say it, you took the words to heart. Knowing why he was here helped relax you, and a casual smile broke out over your face. Words finally found your lips.

“I accept your apology. I’m sorry I ran out like that.”

“Oh no, don’t worry. I would have done the same. I just hope you haven’t quiet yet.” He raised an eyebrow in question.

“I don’t want to,” you said. You honestly didn’t want to leave, or at least, leave Gabriel. How would you be able to put up with the rage that was drowning everyone in that house?

Gabriel picked up on your doubt and threw in an extra bone. “I promise I’ll get you out the room before it happens again. I’ll even take you upstairs.”

“I would love to go upstairs, but I don’t think I can handle the constant fighting and tension. Besides, this job was supposed to be temporarily, so I was bound to leave soon.” You admitted.

He seemed perplexed. He watched you as you leaned against the door frame. Your eyes caught his, and you just knew he would walk away. You just knew he was going to give up on bringing you back. You were so sure for his next words to be goodbye and your stomach clenched. The thought of never seeing Gabriel again hurt your heart in a very legit way. Suddenly, you thought maybe you could handle the brothers.

“I know you’ve only worked a month, and I know my brothers are total dicks but how about we forget about them for now.”

You opened your mouth to respond, but he cut you off. “Let's go on a walk. The park is a block or two down the road.”

“Why do you want to go walking?”

“Maybe, just maybe, if we walk and talk we’ll figure out a solution that isn’t murderous.”

“The worst kind of solutions,” you said with a smile. Your heart was in your throat, and butterflies were slamming your insides. Gabriel wanted you to walk with him. Just walk and talk. The thought made you warm, and you couldn’t hide the sparkle of need in your eyes.

Gabriel watched the happiness spread through you. Starting with the curl of your toes and the fiddling of your fingers. A smile met your ears, and your eyes were glowing. Then you looked away like you always did when things got even a slight bit heated. He grinned, still waiting for an answer.

“My cab driver told you where I lived didn’t he?” you asked.

“Something like that.”

You grinned. “Let me put on some better clothes.”

You shut the door and rushed to get dressed and brush your hair and check the mirror. You couldn’t believe you were about to be alone, at night, not near that house with Gabriel.

Gabriel.

Your fucking boss, Gabriel.

You groaned at the realization. This had to be a no-strings-attached walk. You grabbed your coat, wallet, and keys before reopening the door. He was there, smiling when he saw you. You forced the door shut behind you and put on your coat. “Shall we march?”

“We shall.”

 

Not a word had been said while the two of you walked to the park. It was all stares and fogged breath. Winter was rolling around soon and no doubt the ground would be covered in snow by next week. When your feet had finally stepped on the paved path with hardly anyone on it, he broke the silence.

“So, any solutions thought of yet?”

“Maybe if I knew why you guys fought so much I could help more.”

He was unwilling to respond at first. His eyes were staring ahead as you both kept walking at a slow pace. You could see the air leaving his nostrils as it fogged in front of his face. His lips refused to frown, but his small smile told you he didn’t want to talk about it or didn’t know how to put it. You understood, it would be the same way if someone asked you about your family. You weren’t going to push him, but he sighed heavily and spoke in a serious but soft tone.

“Well, it’s a long story,” he started. “So, Michael’s the oldest. The ‘protector’, or so he likes to think. Nick is the second oldest; our fathers favorite which pisses Michael off. Raphael doesn’t get into fights often because he plays it smart. You know, keeping his opinions to himself and screwing with us on a mental level rather than physical or emotional. Me, well, I’m just sick of all of them. In all honesty, the only reason we fight is because we went so long without seeing each other, and now we can’t handle being together.”

\--  
 **What does the Runaway do when his brothers are gone?**  
\--

You watched every word leave his lips. His eyes didn’t turn to yours until he was finished. You had kept his eyes for a while before you turned back to the pavement at your feet.

“Perhaps you guys should try to not give in so much to the anger. Maybe you all just need some time together. Talk and figure out what’s wrong.”

“We know what’s wrong. We just don’t know how to fix it.”

It was clear he didn’t want to explain what the problem was. You wished he would; you wanted to help. You refused to force him, so you bravely step closer to his side as you kept walking.

Silence hung in the air. Every now and again someone would pass by both of you. Every single one stared at Gabriel for just a little too long. He was gorgeous. The way the stars and lights reflected in his eyes. How his hair tossed with the wind. Even the fog of his breath seemed to help point out his ultimate beauty. You couldn’t help thinking of the muscles in his arms. How you wanted them around you, to warm you up in this cold weather. His angel-like voice whispering breathless commands in your ear. You felt a fire spark between your hips and tried to snap out of your daze. This was what you were trying to avoid. There was no sure fire way to know he even like you back in the slightest bit. You refused to come on to him first without at least some hit. The flirting wasn’t a hint, it just seemed like his normal personality.

Warmth radiated from your body even though you shivered. Gabriel couldn’t help but look at you when you looked away. You were so different, so unique.

Gabriel broke the silence, “What’s your favorite type of ice cream?”

You glanced up at his rather sudden question. “(F/ic), and you’ve already asked that”

“Just trying to make conversation,” He smiled at you, his eyes lighting back up once you returned with your own smile.

You attempted to start another conversation, but nothing came to mind. You weren’t in the mood to talk, but you did enjoy walking by his side. You were sure he would ask a few more question if you allowed him to. You would answer just to watch the look on his face as he learned more about you. It excited you to have him wanting to know more. No doubt, if this man were to ask for your deepest, darkest secret, you would be hard pressed to tell him.

Then you wondered, would he do the same? If you were to ask for his biggest secret, would he have to fight back the urge to tell you, or just reject you all together. Then you thought about how reluctant he was to talk about him and his brothers problem. Yet, he looked like he wanted to tell you, he didn’t. Was that it? His secret?

Perhaps he wanted you to know, but couldn’t find the courage to tell you himself. You decided to press the matter slowly, depending on his actions depended on how far you went.

“Nick,” you said, drawing his attention back to you. “Your brother, what’s his real name.”

You saw him swallow as he looked in front of him. “Been waiting for you to ask, sure did take you long enough.” You smiled as he awkwardly chuckled, now looking back at you. His golden eyes caught you (e/c) ones. His smile lit up his eyes in a way the streetlamps never could. They seemed to search yours with a passion that only you could see. It was like he was searching for your soul, trying to see what you really were.

With that thought, you blinked and looked away.

Gabriel tensed at what he just witnessed. The eyes were considered to be the doorway to the soul, and they were right. Of course, Gabriel saw it all the time. This time, however, when he looked into your eyes and your soul, it was like he saw you and your soul in a different color. Your soul has always been bothered, but that wasn’t unusual in humans. What he saw through your eyes, however, was new.

Gabriel realized he had been quiet for a moment, and that they had stopped moving. He chose to answer your question to dismiss the silences. “Lucifer.”

It took you a minute to focus on his words; you were still lost in his eyes even though you stared at the ground. When it clicked in your head what he was talking about, you asked, “Like, the angel? Were you all named after angels?”

Gabriel was a little shocked but more proud. His brother had entrusted him with why he preferred to be called Nick. He assumed you would see him for what he really was. The devil.

It was clear that you did no such thing, and still associated the name with angels and not a devil.

Gabriel’s smile couldn’t have been bigger, “Yea, I guess you could say our father had a pretty strong faith.”

You chuckled softly as you both started walking again. “What so bad about it that he would want to use ‘Nick’? I mean, Nick is such an ordinary name. His name is more unique.”

“Call him Lucifer instead of Nick, see what he’ll do.”

“As long as he doesn’t throw me around as he does you, I might.” You let a grin settle on your lips. Gabriel mirrored your action and turned to look in front of him.

At some point, you two had become the only two people within sight. The trail was slightly fogged and glowed softly where the lamps were lit. Between each lamp, the light would fade into an almost pitch blackness. At that moment, Gabriel and you both stood between two lamps. The darkness was so black you could hardly see any detail on his face. He had stopped walking suddenly, and you stopped with him. For some reason, your heart skipped a beat. He was looking ahead of you as if he was searching for someone or something.

When he concluded that there was no one within sight, he turned to you. His calm, normally relaxed facial expressions were changed into something more nervous. Like he was thinking about something that caused him to panic slightly.

That’s when you knew. Right there, between those lights in this consuming blackness. His golden eyes locked not only on your eyes, but your lips. His whiskey hair shaking with the soft breeze and his fogged breath showing how hard he was breathing. His stance suggested he was uncomfortable or worried, and it didn’t take long before you learned why.

Gabriel liked you just as much as you did him, and if these small observations didn’t prove that, what he did next did.

His soft, chubby hand came up to your neck to pull you in, but you were already leaning forward. He held you right there, not even a centimeter from his lips. His breath was warm on your skin and your breath hitched. It was like the world stopped as you both waited. Teasing each other with warm breaths and shaking hands.

Your thoughts were racing, and Gabriel couldn’t kiss you yet. He was reading and seeing everything that you thought clearer than he had ever before. He couldn’t kiss you until he had seen everything. You wanted to bring him down to your lips but that it would over do it. You wanted to rub your small hands over his body like he was a brand new Michelangelo statue. Oh, there was so much more you wanted to do. You had finally let your mind allow those dirty thoughts you had subconsciously fought back and that made Gabriel’s stomach turn. It was so sinful those thought you though, but Father, he wanted them just as bad.

It was you that pushed on your tiptoes and pressed your lips to his. You couldn’t fight the urge when you were this close, and you now wished you had done this soon. Both his hands went to your hips, not sure if he should to grab them and pull you closer. They hovered over your clothed skin in a manner that caused a heat in your core.

His lips were as soft as any feather. They formed to yours in a way no others had before. You let him lead as he teased you with his tongue and moved his lips in a slow motion. One hand went to his chest, only because it had to. You had been dying to touch him and how you were so close. His chest was warm under your palm, and his heart was almost hammering. Your other hand was unsure where to go. The chest or the hair?

He didn’t give you time to decide because he grabbed your hips in a painful passion and pulled you so close as his tongue slipped into your mouth. He tasted like candy, and every time his tongue would battle with yours, you wanted to moan into his mouth. His hands wrapped around your back and held you so close that not even air could come between you both. His and your breath was picking up and becoming harsh as you both fought against each other but so clearly wanting to work together. Both your hands were on his chest now, and you grabbed his shirt in your hands, trying to pull like he had you.

Suddenly, he pulled back swiftly and mumbled “Fuck.”

He bowed his head, but he was still so close you could have kissed it. His hold on you didn’t falter and even with his pulling back you both were still dangerously close. His breathing was as heavy as yours. He lifted his head up, and this time pulled you into his chest.

You didn’t know what to make of these actions, all you knew is you were wet and ready. Then again, you didn’t want to leave the warmth of his chest. Never in your life had you felt this safe. You had had people hug you, people twice your size who were as strong as any bodybuilder. This, however, was Gabriel. This was your friend. Your boss. Your crush.

This was yours.

It was selfish and greedy, but you just knew it. How he held you, it wasn’t controlling or overprotective; it was loving and perfect. You moved your arms to wrap them around his torso. You both need this. The safety, the reassurance, the love, all of these things that were absent on both yalls normal days. He smelt of chocolate and touched you like a soft lavender. You couldn’t feel the wind in his embrace, and you unknowingly snuggled into his touch even closer.

What in the hell had just happened?

That’s what both of you were thinking in the very back of yalls mind. Gabriel was shocked that those dirty thoughts hadn’t made a big reappearance since he pulled away. No, all you thought about was him, and how good this all felt. Besides the shock, you were as calm as he had ever seen you be. He didn’t want to talk; he could ruin this for you.

Minutes past and even Gabriel wasn’t sure how long you both had stood there in each others arms.

\--  
 **He’ll die.**  
\--


End file.
